The Runaway Adventures II: Snowbound in Park Avenue
by AllegroGiocoso
Summary: Winter has fallen, and the "pets" have all left home when suddenly, the dogs find themselves away from their pets as they try to brave the winter together, with their deep bonds with each other being the only thing standing in between them and disaster.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, AllegroGiocoso here! It has been six years since I had first come up with the idea for The Runaway Adventures and three years since I posted my final version of The Runaway Adventures on Fanfiction, and for the longest time, I didn't think I would write a sequel for it. The ending seemed so natural, and every time I thought about a sequel, I always became dissatisfied and disillusioned. However, I would like to thank XRL8 the Fox for rekindling my interest in a sequel, and so I decided to give this idea another chance. I'm still not sure whether I'll finish this attempt like my previous attempts, especially since my schedule has become very busy as of late. There's no way I'll be able to put up chapters as regularly as I have in my past stories, it'll take a while for me to write this story and it's possible I may not finish, but all the same, I'm going to give my best effort to compile the ideas that have been going through my head for years into the fanfiction, the start of which you see before you.**

 **As my thanks to XRL8 for his encouragement to get me started, I will put some of his original characters into the story at his request. But apart from his OCs and the two OCs I have introduced in the first Runaway Adventures, this fanfic will focus on the many canon stars of the Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians franchises. This fanfic will involve a very large cast of characters, and soon, I will put up a cast picture on DeviantArt to help straighten the many characters out as well as give you a nice picture to look at. As a result, I am going to start this fanfic with a couple introductory chapters to recap the large cast of characters as an introduction for those who haven't read the first Runaway Adventures, a refresher for those who haven't read it in a while, as well as a refresher for myself, for I haven't written about these characters in years and I may be a bit rusty yet. It would mean a lot to me if you also fave/follow/review, which will help encourage me to continue writing. So without further ado, let us begin!**

Chapter 1: The Winter Walk

Sunset scattered all over the frozen, hard streets of an old New England town one winter evening. A fierce chill blew throughout, causing most people to stay indoors, with their fireplaces keeping them nice and toasty through the harsh chill outside. Despite the coldness, beauty abounded, with the sunset brilliantly shining over the snow, the gleams of which radiated throughout. Every building, from the schoolhouse to the city hall, was covered with a thick blanket of white wrapped from rooftop to rooftop. Across the yards, there were many freshly bought Christmas trees, decorated with sparkling and shimmering lights, that also wafted a fresh pine scent through town, while the brewery smothered the town with a warm scent of apple cider. The faint sound of Christmas music from choirs on the streets and churches and sleighs being pulled by horses with the ensuing jingling from the bells added to the wintry yet welcoming atmosphere.

While the scents abounded outside, hardly anyone was able to enjoy their delights, for there was only one source of warmth outside. This warmth came from a large family walking through town to take in the sights and senses and to get away from the confines of their beautiful yet crowded house. At the center of the group and easily the tallest figures were Jim Dear and Darling, two very loving and kind people who appreciated this time outside to get some fresh air and spend some intimate moments together. They were bundled in warm, heavy coats, which they used often considering they liked to walk so much. Being pushed by them in a stroller was their young son Junior. Now two years old, Junior was a sprightly inquisitive child, always paying attention to his surroundings and delighting in the attention of his family. He loved the outside just as much as everyone else, especially the way the little snowflakes tickled his nose, making him giggle as the snow slowly melted to water. While it was cold, he was happy, for he had a warm baby sized blanket perfect for braving even the frigid of days.

Oddly enough though, Jim Dear, Darling, and Junior were the only humans of their large family. What made their family so large could be seen in Jim Dear and Darling's hands, where they each held onto a bunch of leashes that were attached to a cavalcade of dogs. Leading the way was Lady, a beautiful light brown dog with luscious dark brown ears, deep, chocolate eyes exuding warmth, a jaunty gait, and a gentle grin stretching across her face, for she was very happy with how her life was turning out. Lady was Jim Dear and Darling's first dog, and though they loved all their dogs, she always held a special place in their hearts. When Jim Dear and Darling first got her, they could never imagine that they would have so many dogs. But through her love, gentle spirit, and devotion, Lady found herself becoming the matriarch of a large family, none of whom would have been with her without the warmth and love in her heart she extended to others. Right by Lady's side was her husband, Tramp. Tramp was once a street dog who lived life as a vagabond, not having an owner and taking life in stride, making wonder out of a world where he had to fight for survival every day. His upbringing and life couldn't have been further than Lady's, yet upon getting to know each other and with the help of a spaghetti dinner, the two of them feel deeply in love with each other. Lady loved Tramp so much that she even considered leaving her family to be with him, and Tramp ultimately chose to give up his adventurous life on the streets to live with Lady. While he had a rambunctious side which made him leave their house frequently, Lady always knew that Tramp would come back to her, despite his dating many other girls in the past. For a while, Lady desperately feared Tramp abandoning her, especially during those times when he took off from home or when another girl dog was passing by. But Lady now understood without a shadow of a doubt that Tramp was completely devoted to her and likewise was much more comfortable with Tramp going out on his own, making them both much happier.

Trotting right behind them were two of their daughters, Annette and Colette. Both of them resembled their mother and to an even greater extent each other, though Colette had longer ears and a red collar whereas Annette had shorter ears and a blue collar. Formerly quick to judge and easy to irritate, Annette and Colette soon began to realize how much they loved their family when in turn their brother, their brother again and his girlfriend, and their sister all ran away from home. These times when they've run away, especially when their mother and father had been out looking for them, made them realize what life felt like without a family, and made them much more appreciative of their family. While Annette and Colette still did not get into the brash antics of their siblings and always tried to maintain their best behavior, they had become simply grateful to have their siblings and parents back together in the home with them and became much more pleasant and kind as a result.

Right behind them were Lady and Tramp's remaining two puppies, Scamp and Danielle. Scamp looked like the spitting image of his father in miniature, while Danielle resembled her mother, except with a more casual, unkempt appearance. The two of them were both rambunctious puppies, especially Scamp. The only boy in Lady and Tramp's litter, Scamp had his father's rebellious attitude and drive for adventure and excitement, yet also for a long time felt lonely, being the only boy of the puppies, as well as being the most easily bored. This, along with his general irritation of rules, encouraged Scamp to have run away from home twice, and only after much persuasion and learning to understand that his family truly did care for him did he finally come home. Danielle was less rebellious than Scamp, but she still had a great amount of energy which made her quick to bore. Her mind, though, was a bit slow, which sometimes led her to unwittingly getting herself in trouble. She also had a very sensitive nature she inherited from her mother. For a long time, she had tried very hard to fit in with her sisters, causing her to try to conceal her wild side from them, and always making her a bit unhappy deep down. This concealment, along with her energy and sensitivity all contributed to her decision to run away, and only after she like Scamp was reminded of how much her family loved her, no matter who she was, did she finally choose to return home.

Nowadays though, Scamp and Danielle were both much happier than they had ever been, not only for their greater appreciation for their family, but they had both also found their special soulmates. On Scamp's left side was his girlfriend Angel and on Danielle's right side was her boyfriend Puffball. Angel was a young blonde dog just Scamp's age, with adorable pointy ears, with one of them slightly folded, a large blonde hair tuft, bright blue eyes, and a fluffy tail perched over her back. Puffball was also their age, with greyish fur with speckles, long black ears, a short black tail and emerald green eyes. Scamp and Danielle both met their lovers on their runaway excursions, and Angel and Puffball were both street dogs that longed for a family who both helped to persuade their loved ones to return home. Showing their deep love, Lady and Tramp agreed to take Angel and Puffball in, as did Jim Dear and Darling, so their loved ones came to live with them and become part of the family. Angel and Puffball were endlessly grateful by finally getting the home and family they have dreamed of, as were Scamp and Danielle, who became much more affectionate with their parents and owners from their kind actions. Now, though very young, both couples were together almost as much as Lady and Tramp were, and Lady and Tramp knew in their hearts that both Scamp and Angel and Danielle and Puffball were sure to be soulmates for life.

Bringing up the rear were Angel's parents, Peg and Spunky from the behind. Peg had long blonde ears and had Angel's fluffy tail, coat, and blue eyes, while Spunky had a much shorter orange and white coat with Angel's general build, ears, and light colored nose. Like Angel, they were both street dogs before being taken in by Jim Dear and Darling, and both knew Tramp from his past days on the street. Spunky was once taught by Tramp on how to survive on the street, and quickly learned a lot of Tramp's special tricks to survive. It was, in fact, because of the survival techniques he learned from Tramp that he was still alive, for had he not played dead, he would have ultimately been murdered. He still, however, carried a severe limp on his back right leg as a result of that attempt on his life. Peg meanwhile, was one of Tramp's old girlfriends. While holding a crush on him for a while and arousing Lady's suspicions, her seeing Lady and Tramp's love for each other made her realize how strongly they felt towards each other. Peg then stopped flirting with Tramp, and after helping them find the runaway puppies, she was reunited with Spunky, whom she thought was dead, and the two of them have happily been together ever since. Angel, meanwhile, had presumed them both dead, and upon reuniting with her parents, she was overjoyed, especially after Jim Dear, Darling, Lady and Tramp opened their doors up to her parents to live with them as well.

Now, this large family, while far bigger from when Jim Dear first brought home Lady, felt an even greater sense of intimacy, for all of the emotional turbulence they've been through together made them all realize the depth and strength of their feelings to each other. Little did they know, however, that another challenge was blowing ever closer in the frosty, frigid wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, AllegroGiocoso back again! Just saying again, this story will take quite a while for me to complete - I'm super busy, and haven't gotten to writing in a while. But reviews, favorites, and follows will always be appreciated and would help spur me to write more. I hope you'll like this!**

 **As always, Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians belong to Disney.**

Chapter 2 – The Mystery Puppy

Across the street where Lady and her family lived laid another house, happily covered with holiday decorations on its porch. Living there was Darling's long-lost sister Anita Radcliff, her husband, Roger, and their live-in maid, who preferred to be called Nanny. Piles of boxes towered to the ceiling in their house, for they had only moved in that summer, and shipments of items from their large countryside house were being slowly sent there by the Dearlys, the new tenants of the house. Roger and Anita had decided to keep their large house in Britain, primarily to use as a summer vacation spot. Since moving in, Roger and Anita both found jobs in America. For Roger, there were more lucrative opportunities to compose and play in concerts in the States, and Anita had found a job as a fashion designer. In the meantime, they rented their house to the Dearlys, who happily lived there with their two dalmatians, along with 94 of Roger and Anita's.

However, some of their dogs moved with Roger and Anita to America, and soon became great friends, and later extended family, to Jim Dear and Darling's dogs. The dogs were all lounging in the living room, waiting for Roger and Anita to take them on their daily walk. Looking most expectantly at Roger and Anita was Pongo, Roger's first dog. Pongo was an adult dalmatian, with spots covering his white fur, except for his completely black ears. Like all the other male Dalmatians, Pongo wore a red collar, which was twitching as he moved his head back and forth, watching Roger and Anita intently. Pongo always had an energetic streak, and was eager to take another walk, despite how frigid it was outside.

"Maybe I should fix the clock," Pongo muttered aloud. "Then we can walk sooner."

Sitting next to him, his wife, Perdita, shook her head and laughed. She was a little slimmer than Pongo, had a few less spots than Pongo though had them on her ears, and wore a blue collar like the other female Dalmatians. "You really shouldn't," she said worriedly. "Roger and Anita wouldn't like it."

"What they don't know won't hurt them," Pongo told Perdita casually. "And hey, if I didn't do that, we'd never be together."

Perdita then sighed, "I guess you're right," before lightly laughing and giving Pongo a big kiss on his cheek, which made him beam with pleasure. Sitting in front of them, Pongo and Perdita realized that their five puppies were laughing too. This made them both so happy, for nothing]warmed their hearts more than when they saw sparkles of joy in their kids' eyes. Despite all of their kids being small and white with spots, they could easily tell each of them apart, even when they had all 99. Patch was adventurous and rebellious yet ultimately insecure and goodhearted, easily distinguished by the patch over his right eye. He was also the most stubborn of his runaway siblings, and great friends with Scamp and Angel. Sitting right next to him was his sister Penny. Soft-spoken, sensible, and sympathetic, Penny was very close to Patch, always by his side, whether playing with him or listening to his troubles, which she frequently comforted him about, and even running away with him for a while, despite her misgivings.

Sitting a little ways from them were three more puppies. In the middle was Lucky, who had bright eyes and a unique horseshoe pattern of spots on his back. Lucky was very adventurous, often reckless and confident, and a generally happy puppy. However, he was also the puppy that Pongo and Perdita worried about most. First upon appearing to be dead at birth and then being shot by an arrow from their longtime nemesis Cruella DeVil, Lucky had more than his share of near-death encounters in life, and thus they were always especially protective of him. His sister Cadpig lay nearby. She was the smallest puppy in size with a very skinny build, was lightly spotted, and had especially long ears. She also had a hyperactive, temperamental side, despite being good-natured and optimistic most of the time, and she was avidly into bettering the world and enriching the mind. Lastly sat Rolly, who as his namesake suggested, was very round. He loved eating and was obsessed with food, and spent most of his time daydreaming about hot dogs and hamburgers. Still, he was a loyal, easygoing friend for the other puppies to talk to.

"Rodge, it's getting late. We should get going on our walk," Anita suggested.

"Right," Roger said.

"I'll hook up the leashes," Nanny said, attaching each dog's collar to their leash one by one.

Just then, the phone rang.

"I'll get it," Roger called out, walking over to the phone. As Nanny continued to leash the dogs, they all listened to Roger talk on the phone.

"Hello? Oh… Not feeling well? Acting strange? … Right … Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Okay. Do you know which one? … Right, I understand… Okay, right. I'll call back with an answer."

Roger hung up the phone. "That was Mr. Dearly," he told Anita as she gave him some of the leashes. "He wants to send over one of the puppies. The puppy's apparently not feeling well and thinks it'll do better with us."

"Oh, poor thing…" Nanny said sadly. "Which puppy?"

"The Dearlys don't know their names yet," Roger answered. "After all, there are 94 puppies. You won't mind taking the puppy in?"

"Of course not," Anita said happily.

"Great," Roger said, before picking up the phone, saying they'd be happy to, and putting it down again. "Mr. Dearly's sending the puppy on express shipping. So, ready to go?"

"Sure," Anita answered, and the two of them, along with the puppies set off. As they left, they saw that Lady and Tramp's family were coming back from their walk. The owners quickly waved and the dogs barked as they crossed paths, before continuing to go.

"Mom, Dad, do you know which puppy's coming?" Lucky asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours," Pongo replied.

"Just be sure whoever it is to give them a nice welcome," Perdita reminded them.

"We will, Mom," Penny answered as the other puppies nodded.

"Even Whizzer?" Rolly asked.

"Yes, Rolly," Perdita told him sternly as Lucky and Cadpig snickered. "I know you haven't always gotten along with him, but if he's not feeling well, please don't do anything to make him upset. It would hurt his feelings so much."

"Because then…" Rolly started, but catching himself, he said, "Sorry Mom."

"I wonder who's it gonna be?" Patch asked curiously.

"I know!" Cadpig answered brightly, before getting two dice from out of her collar.

"Where'd you get those?" Patch asked.

"Monopoly," Cadpig answered simply.

"And how are those going to help?" Penny asked.

"It's simple," Cadpig answered. "Watch." As they continued walking, Cadpig held the dice in one of her front paws and said, "Oh, great seers of the future, tell us which of our faraway brothers and sisters will come to join us!" Rolling the dice, Cadpig caught the dice in her other front paw. "Well, I know who that is," Cadpig answered confidently. "It's double twos. Double twos must be Two-Tone."

"Nah, can't be," Lucky told her dismissively. "Two-Tone wouldn't be acting strange."

"Yeah, it's gotta be Whizzer," Rolly sighed.

"Why's that?" Penny asked.

"Look at the dice," Rolly explained. "Doesn't it look like…Uh, maybe I shouldn't say anything."

"Maybe that's a good idea," Penny whispered.

"Maybe it's Tripod?" Patch asked.

"No, Tripod would have to be double threes," Cadpig answered.

"Yeah, but what if the dice are wrong?" Patch asked.

"Are you questioning the inner spirits of the dice?" Cadpig shouted, batting Patch on the nose. She began hyperventilating, causing everyone to recoil back until her breathing returned to normal.

"Maybe it's Spot," Rolly added.

"They said dog," Lucky said.

"Well, what if she's got that spell on her?" Rolly asked. "Like she had once?"

"Well, maybe," Lucky said.

They continued to rattle off names, but just as soon as they said one, they rejected that name before going on to another one.

"I don't think we're getting anywhere," Lucky sighed.

"Yeah," Patch agreed. "I think we should figure out who feels like a misfit. That'd probably be why they're acting funny. I bet it's Jewel. She's probably sick of life in the country by now, she's always liked the glamour and sophistication of the city."

"Well, whoever it is has to be less hungry than I am!" Rolly exclaimed, barking loudly and rubbing his stomach.

"Gee, Rolly's right! It's dinner time!" Roger said. "What's Nanny got cooking?"

"Meat loaf," Anita answered.

"Mmm!" Rolly exclaimed as they all began to walk home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone, I'm back again! Here's the next chapter, up and ready to go. As always, Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians belong to Disney. Thank you XLR8 The Fox for your favorite, follow and review, and please feel free to fave, follow, and review if you wish to!**

Chapter 3 - Not Feeling Good

On the morning of the big day, everyone woke up bright and early. After wolfing down his toast, Roger bustled over to his car to collect the still unknown puppy waiting for them at the harbor and waved goodbye to Nanny and Anita, who proceeded to shovel snow on the sidewalk. As Roger's car took off, Pongo and Perdita crossed the street and barked, inviting Lady and Tramp and their family to come over to their front porch to greet the new puppy. The whole family quickly ran over after alerting Jim Dear and Darling where they were going, where Pongo, Perdita and their puppies were waiting for them.

"I think it's wonderful," Lady told Pongo and Perdita brightly. "You're welcoming in a sixth kid? That's really dedicated of you."

"Yeah," Tramp agreed. "I don't know how you manage to do it. Even with Peg and Spunky helping out, it's hard to keep an eye out on six kids."

"Thanks," Perdita said. "Pongo and I know raising a lot of kids can be quite a challenge, but we couldn't possibly love our children more, and we'd do anything to help them out, especially if one of them's in need. So if any of them want to come here, we will be more than happy to welcome them in."

"How many kids do you have?" Spunky asked.

"99," Pongo answered.

"Huh?" Spunky asked, confused.

"Well, originally we had 15, but we adopted another 84."

"Wow," Peg gasped.

"Haven't you heard their story?" Tramp asked. "It's been all over the Twilight Bark."

"Nope, it's harder to listen in when you have a leg like this," Spunky sighed, stretching out his injured leg.

"Or when you're locked up in the pound," Peg added. "Tell us, please!"

Pongo and Perdita smiled and obliged, telling the whole story, including all of the details on their rescue, which were new to Lady and Tramp as well. Pongo and Perdita both felt warmth in their hearts as they told their story, for Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky were great listeners, nodding and gasping in all the right places.

Meanwhile, the dalmatian puppies were filling the puppies of their extended family on their siblings.

"Ooh, I want to meet Jewel!" Annette said, her eyes wide and bright.

"Yeah, we can play dress-up with her!" Collette added as Scamp rolled his eyes. "I'd love to show off my wardrobe!"

"Well, I think Two-Tone sounds fun," Danielle said buoyantly. "We'd get along great!"

"Yeah, I think we'd have a lot to talk about," Angel agreed.

"Tripod sounds cool," Scamp said excitedly. "I'd love to race him!"

"Watch out," Patch warned. "Just because he doesn't have all four legs doesn't mean he'll be a pushover."

"Yeah, but nobody's faster than me!" Scamp said confidently, backing up and wagging his tail in anticipation, but as he tried to run forward, he fell flat on his face, chuckling in embarrassment.

"Nice one," Angel teased as she licked him affectionately.

"Puffball? What do you think?" Danielle asked.

"I don't know," Puffball replied nervously. "Before you guys, I haven't really met anyone nice..."

"Really?" Danielle asked.

"All I've met before you guys are bullies..." Puffball sighed. "Mean nicknames, biting my ears, tripping me up..." He turned to the Dalmatian puppies before asking, "No one's gonna be a bully, are they?"

"Not really," Penny reassured him. "Some of them have had their bad days, but I know they're all good at heart."

"Yeah, whoever comes will get along with you guys just fine," Patch said confidently. "They'll probably be so happy to be out of the sea of spots that they'll be extra friendly."

"Just meet them with an open heart, and then we can all be in a sunny and harmonious together!" Cadpig answered brightly.

"Oh papa!" Rolly interrupted, hearing the sound of tires skidding across the ice. "I think that's Roger's car!"

"How'd you know?" Annette asked skeptically.

"I always wait for that sound," Rolly answered simply. "It's the sound of groceries coming home. See? Look."

Sure enough, Roger's car rolled steadily in front of the house, and he came out, carrying a small kennel while bundled up in his thick coat.

"Anita! Nanny! I'm back!" Roger called. Anita and Nanny immediately stopped shoveling and walked over to the porch. Then Roger looked over at all of the dogs, with all seventeen sets of eyes watching him expectantly. "Oh Pongo, you rascal!" Roger chortled affectionately, petting Pongo on the forehead as he tucked the cage inside his coat. "I didn't tell you to get everyone set on stage!"

"Stage?" Scamp asked, bewildered.

"He means the porch," Patch whispered as Scamp nodded understandingly.

As Anita and Nanny arrived, Roger revealed his kennel, and opened the door. Everyone stood there, looking expectantly, before a chubby white paw stuck out. Soon, the rest of the puppy walked out of the carrier. She was a stocky puppy, with cool blue eyes, a spot by her left eye, black ears, and a white front side and except for a couple white spots, had a completely black back side.

"Two-Tone!" Cadpig cheered, bounding up to hug her. "I knew it! The inner spirits got it right!"

"Hi Cadpig," Two-Tone said, yawning, yet trying to smile all the same. "Nice to see you."

Lucky, however, couldn't help staring at Two-Tone. He remembered hearing that something was the puppy was "acting strange", and as he looked at her, he saw that…

"You look bushed," Danielle blurted out, and Lucky realized she said just what he was thinking.

"Me?" Two-Tone asked, with a slight giggle. "I… I'm okay…"

Then Lucky noticed something else. "Hey Two-Tone, where's your earring?"

"Huh? Oh, hi, Lucky! Oh yes, earring…I, uh, lost it! That's it, lost it!" Two-Tone giggled.

"Are you… okay?" Angel asked softly, looking at her in an intent and almost pityingly way.

"Of course I'm okay! Why?" Two-Tone asked.

"You don't…. sound right," Puffball told her slowly.

"Who are you guys?" Two-Tone asked, her tone suddenly suspicious.

"It's okay, Two-Tone," Patch said reassuringly. "This is our extended family we met here," before each one of Jim Dear and Darling's dogs introduced themselves to her.

"Nice, meeting you," Two-Tone said.

Meanwhile, Perdita had just whispered something to Pongo, before sitting down right by Two-Tone. "Two-Tone, why don't you come inside and have some rest? You must be exhausted after that ship, and the cold outside surely isn't doing any favors in that regard."

"Oh… Good idea! I'm freezing!" Two-Tone said hurriedly. Gently, Perdita picked up Two-Tone by the scruff, and walked in the house with her. Soon afterwards, Lady's family said goodbye and went back home, while the other dalmatians went inside.

In the kitchen, Nanny was giving Two-Tone a warm bath, singing happily. She plainly missed Two-Tone after not seeing her for a while. However, Two-Tone, rather than closing her eyes as she did in a hot tub, looked from side to side, not even taking a blink.

"Dad?" Lucky whispered. "What's wrong with Two-Tone?"

"Yeah," Penny added. "She just seems … weird."

"I don't know," Pongo told them, concern radiating in his voice. "Mom's gonna try to talk to her tonight."

"She just… I don't know," Lucky sighed. "She's not acting like the Two-Tone I remember."

"Maybe it's the trip," Rolly suggested.

"I still think it must because she felt like a misfit," Patch said.

"I thought she hung out with Mooch, Whizzer, and Dipstick?" Penny asked.

"Well, not really," Lucky blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Patch asked. "They were thick as thieves together."

"Well, uh…" Lucky began, but trailed off, not exactly sure where he was going next.

"She needs some positive self-talk," Cadpig exclaimed cheerily. "Just a little of that will have her put on a happy face!"

"Maybe you're right, Cadpig," Pongo said. "In the mean time, let's all make sure to be extra nice to Two-Tone and help her settle in," and the puppies all nodded determinedly.

That night, the dalmatians all settled down and prepared to lie in their dog beds. However, Two-Tone's dog bed got filthy with dirt and dust from traveling, and as such, they were missing a bed. The problem was quickly solved though, as Penny agreed to let Cadpig share her bed, leaving Two-Tone with Cadpig's bed. Two-Tone walked in last, and slowly ambled over to sleep in Cadpig's bed. Even though it was a tight fit, considering how small Cadpig was, she appreciated how comfortable the open bed and fresh air was after spending days stuck in a dark, dingy and tight corner on the fiercely rocking ship … It was so peaceful here, actually being part of a normal sized family for once… Almost like things were finally settling down to normal... Only nothing was normal, especially considering the real reason why she had to leave...

"Two-Tone?" came a concerned voice. Slowly lifting her head and blinking open her drowsy eyes, Two-Tone saw Lucky leave his basket and approach her. She smiled. Even though he was only her brother by adoption, she couldn't help feeling that Lucky was different from the rest of her foster siblings.

"Hi Lucky," Two-Tone said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"You don't sound so good," Lucky told her worriedly. "You're kicking and turning a lot."

"I always do that," Two-Tone told Lucky, who looked skeptically back at her.

"Well, if anything's wrong, let me know, okay?" Lucky asked, looking deeply into her eyes. He kept staring at her until at last, she nodded slowly. Smiling slightly, Lucky said, "Good night, Two-Tone."

"Night Lucky," Two-Tone said. "And don't worry. Nothing's wrong. Just tired…" And with that, Two-Tone rolled onto her belly and began to snore loudly. She heard Lucky creep back into his bed, where began to go asleep. But then she opened her eyes, wondering if everything really was just as fine as she said it was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone, I'm back again! Writing's going to take a little more time now since I'm going through a barrage of midterms, so don't necessarily expect a chapter every week, but I still have ideas of where I want to take the story and will fit in writing whenever I can. Thank you to XLR8 the Fox for your fave, follow and review, and please do so if you wish to and have not done so already!** **Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their universes belong to Disney.**

Chapter 4: Sudden Plans

Over at Jim Dear and Darling's house, the subject of conversation was just the same as it had been across the street ever since Roger drove back with the dog carrier the prior morning. Breakfast began just as normal at Jim Dear and Darling's household as Jim Dear and Darling filled each of the ten dog bowls, each personalized to their dog, with matching colors to their collars and their names printed on them. As Jim Dear and Darling began setting down the food bowls, their dogs began to talk about the new arrival across the street.

"She can't be the same puppy," Danielle said, shaking her head firmly. "I don't get it. How could she go from fun to… Ugh, I don't know, not fun!" Danielle shouted, waving her paw in frustration.

"She probably needs some time to settle in," Lady suggested wisely. "It really can be scary, moving from one place to another. Why, when Jim Dear adopted me, I remember how terrified I was … Leaving my old family, bumping along in Jim Dear's car in a hat box, and waiting to be opened up. But once I saw how much Jim Dear and Darling loved me, everything felt much better, and I've been happy with them ever since."

"Only because you've never caused any trouble," Scamp teased.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Lady told him, her eyes twinkling.

"What?" Annette gasped, thunderstruck.

Nodding gently with a slight smile, Lady continued, "When Jim Dear and Darling first adopted me, Jim Dear didn't allow me to go on the furniture. He wouldn't even let me sleep on their bed! But with Darling's help, I coaxed him to change his mind, and in the end, he reluctantly agreed, telling me that it was just for the night. But I could tell that after sleeping with me once, they really liked it, so I slept on their bed every night until Tramp came along."

"Who'd have thunk, Mom's a troublemaker," Scamp snickered as everyone laughed and Lady smiled knowingly.

"We've all gotten into trouble at some point," Spunky smirked. "If being naughty was soot I'd be as black as when you first saw me. I can't tell you all the food carts I robbed and practical jokes I've played back in my day. And of course, Tramp and Peg got into trouble all the time, but I'll leave it up to them to tell you their dirty little secrets," he said cheekily as the others laughed as Tramp and Peg looked at each other, grinning sheepishly.

Puffball, gobbling up some chow, added, "I'm sure Two-Tone will be just fine. What can she not like? She's just moved into a great home, with a family, food, baths... Everything!"

"And she gets to be with her parents again," Angel exclaimed. "There's no feeling like that in the entire world."

"Yeah, I agree," Tramp pointed out. "She'll be better soon once she gets the swing of things. Besides, she's been locked up in that little cage bouncing along a rocking boat. It must've felt like the pound …"

"Don't say that word!" Peg gasped, nearly choking on a kibble, her voice fearful.

"Mom, it's okay, you're home now, remember?" Angel asked.

"Oh… Sorry …" Peg sighed, her breathing returning to normal.

"No, I'm sorry," Tramp said seriously. "I shouldn't have brought that up. I didn't think."

"It's not your fault. Just, you know… It's just a feeling that never leaves you," Peg explained. "There's nothing like being jailed up. Nothing."

"Yeah," Lady commiserated sympathetically. "Even one day is bad enough… You start wondering about the point of it all..."

Scamp then asked, "Why was Two-Tone wearing an earring?"

"It's probably a gang marking," Angel answered simply. "They probably all wore earrings to look tough."

Puffball, meanwhile recoiled. "She's a gang member?"

"I don't think so Puffball," Spunky said. "She's not wearing an earring anymore. Perhaps she was thrown out."

"Yeah, she doesn't look like a bully," Danielle said comfortingly, stroking her boyfriend's long ears.

"I'm not even so sure about her earring being anything bad," Annette added. "Maybe she likes showing off her style, and maybe her earring is a way of expressing herself."

"Yeah, and Lucky and the others didn't seem scared of her," Collette said soothingly. "You'd think if she was a hooligan, she'd be more apprehensive. She did seem ditzy though, and ditzes lose things all the time."

"Dad, why do you think she lost her earring?" Scamp asked.

"Dunno," Tramp shrugged. "Maybe Collette's right that Two-Tone's a klutz. She sure seemed awfully scattered. But she also seemed scared. I know what it's like to be scared, and from my experience, the best thing to do about it is to hide it."

"Why would she be scared?" Lady asked. "I'm sure everything would be safe at Pongo and Perdita's place."

Tramp thought for a bit before saying, "Maybe she got into a fight, I suppose. Don't forget, she had 93 brothers and sisters living with her. With that many siblings, conflict's bound to occur."

"A fight can sure lead to other problems too," Spunky added. "It can…"

But before he could finish his sentence, there was a series of barks at the door. "Oh," Jim Dear laughed. "Darling, it seems like we've got visitors."

"I think I know who they are," Darling smiled as began putting out plates.

Jim Dear walked over to the front door, and opening it, he saw that Roger and Anita were standing on the front step, bundled up in thick, woolly coats. Accompanying them were all of their dogs, with Pongo and Perdita standing by their owner's sides, while the puppies were scampering about, with all the dalmatians wagging their tails excitedly.

"Morning Jim Dear, Darling!" Roger greeted them both as Anita hugged Darling.

"Morning," Jim Dear smiled. Still in his bathrobe and thin pajamas, Jim Dear gasped, "It's freezing outside. Come inside! And let the dogs in too."

They went inside, and Darling went over to serve Jim Dear, Anita, Roger and herself some cups of the tea as the two families of dogs began to bound around the kitchen and living room, smiling at each other affectionately and eagerly greeting each other.

"Breakfast!" Rolly shouted happily as he saw Darling working in the kitchen. "Where's the scraps?"

"They haven't started yet," Puffball answered, to which Rolly grunted hungrily.

"Who wants to play a game in the mean time?" Patch asked, his tail wagging in anticipation.

"I do!" Two-Tone answered, lifting her paw. The others instantly turned to look at her as she smiled, and saw that her smile was a bit too wide to be fully believed.

"All right!" Danielle cheered.

Quickly, the puppies then huddled together, eagerly talking about which game they wanted to play. Meanwhile, the parents watched on happily, their eyes softening as they looked.

"I'm so happy for them, they have everything they could possibly want," Lady sighed happily as she looked at all of the puppies. "There's enough of them to have all the friends they could ever want, yet there's enough of us to be able to take care of them and give them all the individual attention they need," as the other parents smiled in agreement.

Meanwhile, Jim Dear, Darling, Roger and Anita all took a seat at the table and began to drink their tea. "How are you doing?" Jim Dear asked.

"Really busy," Roger sighed, shaking his head. "Christmas is just around the corner, and I've got a lot of holiday concerts booked. They ask me to play twenty songs at some of them."

"Don't you get tired?" Darling asked worriedly. "You must be practicing all day and all night … And yet you're still able to take care of all of your dogs, even picking up another one!"

"We manage," Anita reassured Darling. "Actually, our dogs help all of out a lot."

"Yeah, I don't think I'd ever leave the piano if it weren't for them," Roger admitted. "But I really need to. It's a good change of pace."

"And don't forget, we have Nanny," Anita said gratefully. "We're not the world's best chefs, so she really helps us a lot. But…" Anita paused, and she Roger looked at each other apprehensively.

"Anything we can help you with?" Jim Dear asked.

"Well," Roger said slowly. "Our schedule is really packed, and Anita and I need all the help we can get. Not all the hotels we booked have room service, and since our schedules are so packed, we might not have time to do basic laundry and things like that. So we would like to take Nanny with us to help out."

"Trouble is, Nanny usually would be staying home to take care of the puppies, and most of the hotels aren't pet friendly," Anita said sadly. "We were just wondering… If you could let Nanny go with us and … Well, could you guys take care of our dogs?"

"We'll pay for the dog food," Roger volunteered at once, laying out a wad of bills on the table as Jim Dear and Darling looked at each other. "Of course, if you can't, we'd more than understand… We could just hire a petsitter and..."

"No, not at all," Jim Dear said. "We understand how you'd want someone who you know to take care of your dogs."

"We can take care of them all," Darling promised. "It would probably make your dogs happier, especially considering how your dogs seem to like ours so much."

"Great!" Roger exclaimed, looking thoroughly relieved. Just then, the timer rang, and Jim Dear retrieved some freshly baked scones from the oven and brought them to the table, simmering away. Meanwhile down below, the puppies began to talk excitedly.

"Oh papa! Sleepover party!" He gasped, staring at the large refrigerator standing in the kitchen. "Wonder what goodies they've got stashed in there?"

"New books for me to broaden my mind with!" Cadpig cheered.

"More opportunities to explore!" Patch gasped.

"And a really nice TV!" Lucky exclaimed. "Perfect for the season finale of Thunderbolt!"

"So when does your tour start?" Darling asked.

But before she could answer, the grandfather clock just rang ten times. "Blimey!" Roger gasped. "I promised my agent I'd call him at 10."

"The phone's right by the front door," Jim Dear told him. "Go ahead and use it." Roger nodded thankfully and tore off.

Meanwhile, Anita beckoned Pongo and Perdita over, who obliged, and Lady, Tramp, Peg, and Spunky followed.

"You'll be okay, taking care of all of your puppies, right?" Anita asked worriedly. At once, the parent dogs all nodded, smiled, and barked reassuringly.

"You know, sometimes I get the feeling that our dogs really understand us," Anita said.

"I know, right?" Darling asked. 'Maybe it's our imagination, but I actually felt as though they were listening."

"That would be something if they could," Jim Dear said as he, Darling and Anita laughed.

Just then, Roger ran back in, gasping for breath. "Oh my gosh… My agent wants us to be there right away! He's booked a concert for tomorrow!"

"What, really?" Anita asked, dropping her coffee cup.

"I know, he's crazy," Roger sighed, shaking his head. "He said that he's sold so many tickets that he needs to schedule more concerts to accommodate them all. I know it's short notice, but I don't want to disappoint my fans. They're probably really excited, and the last thing I want is to cancel a concert. I'll tell Nanny to get packing."

"There's no use of doing it all by yourselves, we'll help out too," Jim Dear explained gladly, and putting on his coat as Darling put on hers, they rushed outside, hurriedly shutting the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone! It's been quite a roller-coaster ride for me as of late, and I'm not getting the time I wish I could spend writing. It'll take more time than usual for me to write, especially since I've been dissatisfied with some of my drafts. I probably won't manage to update every week now, but I'm gonna keep trying writing. Also, please fave, follow and review the story, as it is a source of motivation to keep me writing. Thank you again to XLR8 for the kind reviews, favorite and follow and most importantly, for the inspiration and encouragement.**

 **This chapter will also include three OCs of XLR8 who asked me to put in the story. They will be in the story regularly, along with the rest of the (extremely large) cast. XL, CiCi and Leo belong to XLR8. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their universes belong to Disney.**

Chapter 5: The Beginning

As Jim Dear, Darling, Roger and Anita all left the house one by one and shut the door with a loud clang, a deafening silence rang through the house, with only the echoes of that door shut reverberating. For the first time ever, the whole extended family of dogs was inside one house with none of their pets watching over them. For a little while, they all just sat there, looking at each other in this strange experience. It felt funny, being all together at home, safe from any danger on the streets, yet without the familiar presence of their pets around. Then abruptly, Scamp's eyes lit up and his tail started wagging before he yelled, "It's party time!"

The others looked at Scamp perplexedly. "Scamp," Lady asked concernedly. "You're not going to do anything to make Jim Dear and Darling upset, are you? They'll be back very soon."

"Promise Mom, I won't," Scamp said eagerly.

Lady gave him a understanding smile and softened her eyes. "Well, I don't see how a little fun can hurt."

At once, the puppies began to cheer as the parents happily looked at each other. Excitedly, Lucky hurried over to the radio sitting in the corner of the kitchen and hit the power button. Immediately, a jaunty pop tune began emanating through the kitchen,and the puppies soon began to wag their tails along to the beat, and then they found themselves beginning to dance on the checkered tiles of Jim Dear's kitchen.

"I'll be right back," Tramp declared, sounding more excited than he had in days. Hurriedly, he tore into the hallway and pushed his paws on the door leading to the hidden stairs leading to the basement, which hardly of them any entered.

"What's Dad doing down there?" Annette asked, looking at Lady curiously.

Lady smiled. "You know Dad," she said affectionately. "He must be up to something, and something that I know you guys will love."

Sure enough, the soft patter of paws bounded up the basement stairs, and Tramp returned, carrying up a disco ball in his mouth, looking very excited. Hurriedly, he placed it on the counter and plugged it in. At once, the ball began to rotate in a circle, and circles of brilliantly bright orange, pink, red, green, blue and yellow plastered the walls and spun around the room. The puppies and oohed and aahed along with the rotating circles.

"Seems like you've found another winner," Pongo told Tramp admiringly.

"Well, I'm always great at having a great time," Tramp explained. With the glow of the lights, the puppies started to dance faster and faster.

"Now THIS is a party!" Patch cheered at once as he danced with Penny, who grinned as she led him back in the other direction.

"Wee-haw!" Danielle cheered as she skated across the floor, with her front paw holding that of Puffball's, while Scamp and Angel grinned in a dance involving as much tackling as being together. Meanwhile, Annette and Collette practiced their acrobatics, trying their hardest to balance with only one paw on the ground as they tried to spin the rest of their airborne bodies. Lucky and Two-Tone grabbed both of each other's front paws and swung each other round and round just as they had at the Four Legged Ball, and Rolly spun around with Cadpig, regularly lifting her above him as she shrieked in pleasure. Lady, Tramp, Pongo, Perdita, Peg and Spunky meanwhile, sat there, smiling, watching their kids hoot, holler, and have the time of their lives. Tears of joy soon began streaming down the puppies' eyes as they continued to party.

"Amazing," Perdita said happily. "I've never seen any of them look this happy in days."

"Yeah," Spunky agreed. "They're probably happy to have such a change in routine"

Soon however, the music stopped, and the commercials began. At once, a loud groan rang out from all of the puppies.

"Not now!" Rolly moaned. "And please don't put on K9 Krunchies. I'm hungry enough without that jingle blasting through my head!"

"Yeah, what a bad time for a commercial," Collette agreed. "It broke my concentration."

"No worries kids, I'll fix it up," Peg said confidently, and at once, flipped the station. The puppies cheered as the music returned, and Peg smiled as she bounded back over to Spunky. Spunky turned, and saw Peg was flirtatiously smiling at him, batting her eyelashes intently. "Hey darlin'… wanna show off our old moves?"

Spunky grinned. "I was wonderin' when you were gonna ask," Spunky smirked, and the two of them began to take part in a quickstep.

"How can you do that? With your leg?" Peg asked in amazement.

"Baby, it's called talent," Spunky answered confidently, smiling suavely.

The minutes flew by, and Pongo suddenly couldn't stop staring at Perdita excitedly. Perdita smirked, seeing he was watching her, but was pretending to ignore him. Pongo however, subtly moved closer and closer to her and gave her meaningful, seductive smiles. Perdita laughed. "You're not going to give in until we start dancing, are you?" she asked.

Pongo smirked as he shook his head. "But I would like to hear those magic words," he teased.

"Stop it," Perdita giggled, but she immediately took Pongo's paw and they began to get into a slow, graceful dance, stretching their long bodies out to perform graceful acrobatics and swing meticulously around the room.

This left Lady and Tramp sitting alone by the record player. However, they were not even watching their kids anymore. Instead, they were staring into each other's eyes, each knowing exactly what the other wanted to say, but each wanting the other to say the magic words. At last, with the excitement of the music getting to him, Tramp gave in. "Well, we can't be the only squares, can we Pidge?" Tramp asked, smirking.

Lady smiled teasingly. "Hmm... I think I should say... yes!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide in delight, and she and Tramp threw themselves into a blissful and passionate dance, looking delightedly into each other's eyes the whole time.

"Yeehaw! Everyone's in now!" Danielle shouted gleefully. Everyone laughed, thoroughly thrilled as they continued to dance. The party kept on going strong, and they were so enthralled with the fun they were having that before they knew it, the commercials started again.

"I hate commercials!" Two-Tone cried out. "Well, maybe except if there's a bargain on."

"Yeah, they're so annoying," Scamp added.

"Could someone please change the channel?" Penny asked despairingly.

"I'll do it," Tramp volunteered. Letting go of Lady, he turned to go to the radio but he gasped. Standing by the radio was another dog, looking eagerly at them. She was a tall husky, taller than any of the other dogs in the house, and though the disco ball's lights made it look as though her fur was all of the colors of the rainbow at different times, they could tell that she really had very thick, pearly white fur, with bright blue eyes, and a purple collar with a star tag. Slowly realizing that they had a visitor, everyone stopped dancing, taken aback and slightly embarrassed.

"Excuse me," Perdita asked tentatively, approaching the newcomer. "Who are you?"

"Oh," she giggled. "My name is CiCi. I'm one of your neighbors, I've just moved in. I live in a house two down from here. I just heard some snazzy music in here and could tell that a party was going on!" She then looked at them curiously and said, "Why did you just stop like that? Keep on partying! I'll just be your DJ and change the station every time the commercials turn on."

"Would you really?" Pongo asked.

"Sure!" CiCi said. "I love a good party."

"Thanks," Tramp said energetically. "That would be great!"

"Yes, thank you," Lady smiled at her appreciatively, and at once, CiCi turned the channel to another music station with an even faster tempo. CiCi then turned the volume up a bit, and more excited than ever, everyone went back to dancing along with the music. Laughing, smiling and shouting, the dance party continued on and on, but it felt like a blur considering how much fun they felt and how much they enjoyed themselves. At last, their bodies then began to sag, and then they slowly moved to the radio to watch the others, until at last, everybody was done dancing.

"C'mon everyone, let's start singing along!" Angel suggested eagerly. Everyone agreed, and once, they and CiCi started to sing along with the radio tunes, grinning enthusiastically with each note they sang. As they sang, they felt the warmth of all of their voices ringing out together, harmonious in the happiness they felt upon being with their best friends and family.

"Wowza, this is fun!" CiCi exclaimed.

Everyone nodded in agreement, before CiCi suddenly said, "Oh! I almost forgot! I'm gonna have you meet my housemates!"

"Your housemates?" Pongo asked.

"Yeah," CiCi said. "Except Scavenger. He swallowed part of a rubber bone and my pets took him to the vet to get it out. But you'll meet the others! I'll be right back!" And without another word, CiCi tore off, causing the floor to rattle a bit with her excitement, and leaped out the dog door.

Lady, meanwhile looked around and asked, "I wonder why Jim Dear and Darling have not gotten back?"

"Relax, they're probably just packing a lot of stuff," Tramp consoled Lady.

"Yeah," Pongo agreed. "Roger's probably packing a lot of equipment up. He might be even packing up his recording equipment, and that alone can take hours."

Lady nodded, before Danielle shouted, "Whoopee! My favorite song!"

Everyone then began to sing along again with the radio until the dog door opened again. They could see that CiCi reappeared, shaking tall heaps of snow off her her, but this time, she was accompanied with two others. As they drew closer, everyone saw that one was a light blonde munchkin kitten with very short legs and black tips on his ears and tail. The other was a bright orange fox, wearing a blue collar and a red tag.

"Guys, meet Leo and XL!" CiCi exclaimed, pointing to the cat and fox respectively.

Abruptly, everybody looked at the two other newcomers apprehensively. Meanwhile, Leo and XL looked at each other, with worried expressions on both of their faces.

"Whatsa matter?" CiCi asked, looking at both the dogs and XL and Leo, crestfallen. "Why aren't you the best of friends? I thought for sure you would be!"

All of the dogs looked at each other before Annette began slowly, "He... He's a cat."

"And cats don't like dogs," Collette continued. "They only get us in trouble."

"Well, not all cats are bad," Penny pointed out. "We've had a cat save us from Cruella once."

Lady and Tramp's family all looked at the dalmatians curiously, who all nodded. "Sergeant Tibbs is amazing! He saved all of our skins from that mean old hag," Patch said.

"I'd say he's got some dog in his brain," Cadpig pointed out.

"We're all very grateful for what Sergeant Tibbs has done to help our puppies," Perdita said appreciatively.

"If it weren't for him, who knows what would've happened," Pongo added, shivering slightly with the thought of it.

Lady walked over to Leo, looked at him thoughtfully, and asked, "You won't do anything to upset us, would you? We don't know many other cats, and the only cats we do know are our pets' aunt's, and well, let's just say they're …"

"Complete fleabags," Danielle finished as the others giggled.

"Well, I guess," Lady finished, still chuckling. "They have a dislike towards dogs and want to get us into trouble…"

"Oh no!" Leo pointed out. "I'm not like that! I have no problems with dogs … That is, if you won't chase me," he said, curling his tail in apprehensively, staring at the dogs pleadingly.

"We promise," Tramp began, as everyone nodded, except for Scamp, who looked bewildered.

"Scamp," Angel smirked. "Promise Leo you won't chase him."

"What? It's fun to chase cats!" Scamp said, before the others all looked at him seriously. "Oh fine," Scamp sighed. "I won't chase you Leo, promise."

Though Leo looked relieved, XL still looked a bit nervous. Hurrying over, the parents went to speak to XL.

"What's your story, dearie?" Peg asked.

"I'm a house fox," XL said. "Really! I know that's not common, but I am. I've grown up with CiCi, Leo, Scavenger and my pets."

The parents nodded, but all looked a bit uneasy. XL said, "Something wrong?"

"You're … Well, do pardon me, but … You're not going to harm our puppies, are you?" Perdita asked worriedly.

"Huh?" XL asked, confused.

"Often foxes kill housedogs, especially puppies," Spunky said sadly. "You won't, right?"

"Pssh…. Nah! I'm really more of a dog myself! No really, I'm more worried about you guys."

"Worried about us?" Pongo asked, just as confused as XL sounded.

"Well…I know CiCi is not like this… and my owners don't do this either ... But some pets take their dogs out foxhunting," XL said fearfully. "You know, have their dogs sniff out foxes and..."

Tramp couldn't help but snicker. "Ah, no worries. Our pets have never hunted in their lives, how about yours?"

"Nope," Pongo agreed. "We don't take part in killing."

XL dropped his shoulders and sighed in relief. "Whew! That's good."

"Come on!" Danielle shouted eagerly. "Who wants to go outside and have a snowball fight?"

Then darkness enveloped them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone, I'm back! My schedule is getting even tighter, and my creative mind's been a bit less active lately, so it's been hard to write, but at last, I've got another chapter up! Thank you to XLR8 for faving, following and reviewing, and if you have not already faved, followed, or reviewed, please do so! Also, Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians belong to Disney. XL, CiCi, and Leo belong to XLR8. Have fun reading!**

Chapter 6: Blackout

A chill wind of silence struck its icy breath through the kitchen, with nobody daring to speak a word. Just moments ago, everyone was carefree, lively in their partying mood and having the time of their lives. Now however, they just sat there, still too stunned to comprehend. As they began to realize what happened though, a murmur of anxious conversation rang through the kitchen as voices began to cry out helplessly.

"Why's it dark?" Spunky asked nervously. "The lights just don't go off like that!"

"I can't see!" Annette gasped, not daring to move an inch. "If I crash into anybody, please forgive me!"

"What happened?" Two-Tone shouted. "I don't like this! Oh... sorry, whoever it is!" Two-Tone gasped as she bumped into someone else.

"It's okay," Patch said comfortingly.

"I can't see well either," XL said confusedly, looking for a place to sit not as hard as than the cold tiles of the kitchen. Then suddenly, he smiled. "This is soft though... Ooh! Plushy! I like how this feels!"

"Ouch! XL, that's my ear!" Collette cried out.

"No wonder it's so soft," XL said, wagging his tail excitedly. "Your ears look so plushy!"

"Ugh..." Collette groaned.

"I'll be gentle, promise," XL said. "Just... Could I pet your ears?"

Collette sighed, but hearing the plaintive tone in XL's voice softened her heart a bit. "Oh, all right. But please be gentle with them." Happily, XL rubbed his paws on Collette's ears as Collette sat and smiled at him.

"Did anyone turn off the lights?" Pongo asked. "Please! I won't be mad..."

"Scamp," Puffball asked his foster brother.

"Huh?" Scamp asked confusedly.

"Is this some sort of prank?" Puffball asked worriedly. "To try to scare everyone?"

"No," Scamp replied bewilderedly. "Why're you asking me?"

"Oh come on Tenderfoot, we all know how much you love a good prank," Angel gently ribbed him.

"Well, yeah," Scamp grinned sheepishly. "But I did't do it! Promise!"

"We believe you, Whirlwind," Tramp told his son soothingly.

"Yes," Perdita agreed. "This situation seems far too serious to be a joke."

Just then, there was the sound of an unmistakable collision, and abruptly, a loud "Ow!" rang out.

"Lucky!" Cadpig asked. "What happened? Did the evil spirits mess with your walking?"

"No," Lucky grunted. "I just walked into Rolly."

"Huh?" Rolly's voice rang out. "How d'you know it's me?"

"Well, I know you so well, and it's not that hard to figure out," Lucky commented.

"Heh, you're right," Rolly chuckled. "Maybe I ate too much."

Just then, a scratching, scraping sound came from high above. Everybody froze, in a panic, before at once, a chorus of loud, frantic barks came from everyone in the kitchen.

"Everyone, please, quiet," Leo meowed.

"The floors are creaking! The house is gonna collapse!" Patch gasped. "Everyone, hide!"

"We're doomed!" Cadpig shouted. "Please, forgive us!"

"Jim Dear, Darling, where are you?" Lady barked worriedly.

"Quiet," Leo said again.

"Somethin's really wrong. Not even the pound gets this dark," Peg said grimly.

"This is a crisis!" CiCi shouted. "The snow's gonna bring the house down! XL, sorry I brought you here!"

"It's okay CiCi," XL said, still kneading his paws on Collette's ears. "At least we're gonna be together."

"Okay, that's it," Tramp growled. "I'm gonna see what's..."

"No, please!" Penny shouted concernedly. "It could be dangerous!"

"But Penny..."

"QUIET!" Leo shouted, arching his back. At once, everyone shell-shocked with the surprisingly loud volume of the little cat, hushed and sat back down. "Everyone, stay right where you are!" Leo said.

"Why?" Scamp asked. "So..."

"Scamp, please," Pongo told him.

"So you don't crash into each other," Leo said. Sighing, Leo said, "Okay guys, I see all of you."

"How?" Patch asked. "It's so dark inside!"

"I'm a cat," Leo explained calmly. "I can see in the dark. Now just stay there while I try to find some light."

Nervously, everyone else sat down wherever they were standing and waited. They could hear that Leo's footsteps pattering across the countertop. Then they could hear him digging through the cupboards, until at last, he said, "Stay back!" Everyone who was remotely nearby backed up a little bit, making sure not to bump into everybody. "That's good!" Leo said, before a loud scratching sound took place. Suddenly, a little light flared up before …

"Yowch!" Leo screamed, jumping up so high he hit the ceiling.

Hurriedly, Pongo saw Leo through the little light that remained in the room and caught Leo mid-jump. "Are you okay, Leo?" he asked gently.

Leo dejectedly shook his head and grimaced as a stinging, painful sensation shot up his paw pad. "I'm burned!" he exclaimed.

With the help of the light, Puffball crossed the kitchen counter and was barely able to make out where the kitchen sink was. Hurriedly, he ran over to the sink and turned on the cold water. Pongo then gently carried Leo to the sink, and Leo held his paw out to soak it in the refreshingly cold water.

"Are you okay?" Lady asked. "I'm sure we have bandages around we could help you with."

"I'm fine," Leo said calmly. "I've done the job, that's all the matters."

"What job?" Danielle asked, before looking at the light, "Oh."

Standing there on the counter, remained and untouched since Leo dropped it, was the lit candle, which everyone realized must have provided all of the light in the room.

"It sure is nice to finally be able to see something again!" Annette said. "Thanks Leo!"

"You're welcome," Leo said appreciatively.

"What happened?" Rolly asked curiously.

"The power went off," Lucky explained. Everyone knew that Lucky had an unique knowledge of electricity since he loved watching TV and knew that he must be correct. "The electricity must not be working properly."

"Right you are," Leo said. "Mind you, but dogs can't see as well as cats."

"Hey! We can see just fine!" Scamp said, bristling.

"Not in darkness," Leo explained. "But with the power off, we have no other choice than finding other ways to get light."

"We need more light," Pongo explained. "It's better than nothing, but it still is sure hard to see anything."

Leo, however, shook his head. "Can't do. I've burned my paw, remember?"

"We know Leo," Perdita consoled him.

"We can do the rest," Tramp explained confidently.

"We've seen Jim Dear and Darling light the candles," Lady explained. "We know where they should be, and we can pinpoint them with our noses.

"But we can't all look for them," Two-Tone explained. "It's hard enough for everyone to fit through as it is, even worse when it's dark."

"Yes, and fire is awfully dangerous," Penny cautioned.

Leo moved forward. "Good observations," he suggested.

Tramp then said, "We've got to start a search party to find them. And no offense guys, but it should be made up of us who live here because we know the house best."

"We understand," Perdita told Tramp understandingly, as she, Pongo, their puppies, XL and CiCi nodded.

"I'll help," Lady said brightly. "I have been here for quite a while, so I know where Jim Dear and Darling would put their things."

"Count me in also," Peg added. "I can tell when somethin' flashy is around."

"I wanna help too!" Angel exclaimed eagerly. "I'm always up for a challenge!"

"Can I please help too?" Scamp asked. "This sounds like fun!"

So everyone else backed up as Lady, Tramp, Peg, Angel and Scamp moved forward. "You guys head over to the windows, and I'll keep an eye out to make sure you don't crash into anything."

Pongo then said, "Tramp, would you mind if Leo rides you?"

"No really," Leo began, but Pongo shook his head. "Your paw is hurt, and you've got to be careful. Tramp will carry you so you don't hurt your paw anymore."

Leo nodded.

"Good luck guys!" Lucky called out.

"We'll fix it, no problem," Scamp answered assuredly. "Ready everyone?"

Feeling each other nod, Lady, Tramp, Peg, Angel and Scamp began to head off. "This way," Leo said as he steered them to the exit, and so the five dogs meandered their way through the kitchen.

"Ow! What's this? It's so cold!" Scamp asked, bumping into something oddly steely

"It must be the stove," Lady said cautiously.

"Why'd a stove be cold?" Scamp asked confusedly.

"No one's used it in a while," Angel observed.

"Oh dear … Sorry, Peg!" Lady gasped as she and Peg bumped into each other.

"Don't worry, dearie, we're bound to bump into each other every now and then," Peg said consolingly.

"Nearly out of the kitchen!" Leo said. "Angel, turn right to avoid the wall. Peg, there's a bone right in front of you, so watch out!"

Nodding understandingly, Angel and Peg avoided their obstacles. Just then, Tramp let out an enthusiastic whoop. "We're almost there! I can feel the rug of the entryway!"

"Woo-hoo!," Scamp cheered eagerly. "Can we start grabbing some candles now!"

"Sure thing, Whirlwind," Tramp said confidently. He then turned to Leo. "Can you lead Scamp and I to the window ledges?"

"Sure," Leo answered.

"Good luck," Lady, Peg, and Angel all said at once, before Tramp and Scamp headed down the hallway, with Leo perched on Tramp's back.

"A bit to the right," Leo instructed.

"Okay," Tramp said determinedly, and he kept his eyes at a level where he knew exactly the candles would be.

"Scamp!" Leo gasped. "What..."

"Hey Pop!" Scamp exclaimed. "I've got one!"

"Great!" Tramp exclaimed. Even though it was dark and Leo guided him, Tramp found this task to be surprisingly easy. He had navigated through enough dark alleyways and had been in this house long enough to know exactly how close the candles were and where exactly they would be. Scamp meanwhile proved to be great at sniffing out the faint aroma of wax, and helped gather up the few candles Tramp missed. With Leo spotting them to make sure he didn't get into trouble, Tramp and Scamp grabbed each of the window candles off the window ledges, carrying them with their teeth, going all the way down to the living room and back until at last, they completed their task.

"Piece of steak," Tramp grinned, clutching the candles in his mouth.

"Are there any more, Pop?" Scamp asked eagerly.

"Well, there are the ones on the Christmas tree," Lady explained.

"Oh yeah!" Scamp said eagerly.

"You guys stay here while I get this candle lit. Then we'll go to the living room together," Tramp said.

And with Leo riding his back and giving him directions, Tramp returned to the kitchen to light the candle and give Leo a well-earned rest.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, tenderfoot?" Angel asked daringly.

"Oh yeah," Scamp said cockily. "I'm gonna get more candles off the tree than you are!"

"Don't count on it," Angel smirked affectionately.

"It is on!" Scamp shouted enthusiastically.

Lady and Peg smiled gently at each other. They loved how much their children loved to make a game out of everything, and were more than happy to help them have fun. "We'll catch the candles to make sure they don't fall off they don't break," Lady said.

"I'll catch yours Angel, and Scamp, your mom will catch yours," Peg said. "At the end, Lady and I will tally up the candles to see who won!"

Just then, Tramp came back, carrying a candle in his mouth. "Ready to go?"

All agreeing, Tramp led the others to the living room. Trying hard to keep the candle out of anything's distance and not to crash into any of the chairs or tables, they at last reached the Christmas tree. In the faint light of Tramp's candle, Scamp and Angel looked into each other's determined face and nodded, as their mothers stood by their side, preparing to catch all the candles.

"Ready?" Tramp asked excitedly, before saying, "Go!" At once, Scamp and Angel climbed up their respective side of the Christmas tree, frantically pawing out to grab as many candles as they could, and throwing them down. Lady and Peg, meanwhile, jumped up to catch the falling candles and gently placing them on the ground.

"I'm winning!" Scamp exclaimed.

"Not for long!" Angel countered.

The two puppies continued climbing up the Christmas tree, feeling around for candles while at the same time trying to dodge the hanging ornaments impeding their movement and hanging precariously off their branches. Lady and Peg, meanwhile, continued to catch all the candles.

"I'm glad Jim Dear's given us so much fetch practice," Peg told Lady, who vigorously nodded in agreement as they each caught another falling candle. They continued to catch the candles, as well as saving a few ornaments that Scamp and Angel had knocked slightly off balance, preventing several close calls of broken bulbs.

"Whew," Lady gasped as she grabbed a particularly big bulb. "Glad that didn't break!"

"Yeah," Peg told Lady. "I've had some close calls too on my end."

They stopped though, for at that moment, Scamp and Angel reached the top, both at the same time. Frantically trying to grab for candles, they realized that instead, they grabbed each other. Smiling at each other, their grips softened as their grab turned into a hug, and looking flirtatiously into each other's eyes, Scamp whispered, "I love you Angel."

"You too, Scamp," Angel told him sweetly, giving him a peck on the cheek causing him to blush and giggle awkwardly.

"You two did great!" Lady exclaimed happily. "Not only did you get all the candles, but you didn't break any ornaments either!"

"Who won?" Scamp asked eagerly, wagging his tail.

Lady and Peg looked at each other, counting each other's candles.

"You both got 12," Peg answered.

"Haha! I got as many as you did!" Scamp cheered.

"But you didn't get more," Angel teased.

But before Scamp could say another word, a loud howl rang out from the kitchen. "Oh no!" Scamp gasped.

Then, another cry came from upstairs. "Double oh no!" Scamp said fearfully.

Everyone looked a little confused, before all of a sudden, Lady gasped.

"What is it, Pigeon?" Tramp asked.

Lady paused, before frantically stuttering, "Junior is still in the house!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Here we are, another chapter! Thank you to XLR8 the Fox for favoriting, following and reviewing, as well as for the characters CiCi, Leo and XL. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney. Please fave, follow and review if you have not done so already!**

Chapter 7 – Bleeding and Babies

Horror struck them as they continued to hear Junior cry.

"Why would Jim Dear and Darling leave Junior here?" Scamp asked bewilderedly.

"I don't know," Tramp said. "Roger and Anita were sure in a rush, and I guess Jim Dear and Darling were too."

"I hope nothing happens to them," Lady sighed wistfully. It had been three years since Lady was first brought home with them, and never had they left the house with such a seeming lack of preparation.

Before anyone could say another word, a loud, scurrying sound came from the hallway. Suddenly, Lady felt a thud at her side, and she was knocked over a little bit.

"Mom!" a voice cried out from right by her side. Lady instantly recognized it to be Danielle's. "Help!"

"What is it, Danielle?" Lady asked softly, cradling Danielle gently with her paw as Tramp moved the candle so Lady could see Danielle's eyes, which looked just how she sounded: shocked, alarmed, and scared.

"Help! Annette's in trouble!" Danielle shouted, her eyes wide with terror.

"What?" Lady asked, her eyes widening. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno... But hurry! This way!" Danielle gasped and instantly tore into a breakneck run, going so fast that she didn't notice the wall she was about to crash until it was too late. "Ugh… I hate the dark!"

"Here," came another voice, and looking up, they saw Patch was coming down the hallway, carrying a lit candle in his mouth. "Follow me!"

They continued onward, the atmosphere growing more and more panicky with each passing second. Upon arrival, and through the dim light of the few candles already lit in the room, they could see the forms of many members of their families, looking desperately around and barking in alarm.

"Everybody, don't panic!" Pongo shouted over the tumult. At his words, a tense silence blanketed the room.

"What has happened to my baby?" Lady asked, her voice ringing with terror.

"Mom!" Collette gasped, her voice high pitched and fearful. "Annette…. She cut herself!"

With a candle in her mouth, Collette led Lady over to the dining table. More candles were set up around underneath, and through their light, Lady gasped at the sight in front of her. She instantly recognized the form of her daughter, lying on her side on the hard kitchen floor, writhing in excruciating pain. Looking closer at her paw, Lady suddenly saw a huge gash, blood spurting out of it with every seconds. Hearing the sound of metal clanging, Lady looked over to her left and saw that Patch and Penny were holding onto two dustbins, while Perdita held a broom in her teeth and sweeping the ground, staring intensely down at it. As Perdita swept, Lady noticed how carefully she was placing her paws and heard loud, tinkling sounds.

"Annette!" Lady gasped, rushing to Annette. Tramp followed right behind her, jumping over the counter, onto the table, and back onto the floor as fast as she could, with Scamp and Danielle following not very far behind. Softly, Tramp began to stroke his daughter's back. "Annette," Tramp began. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Annette answered sadly as Scamp threw a bandage from the cupboard to Danielle, who promptly began wrapping it around her sister's paw, both with a look of shock and fear on their faces.

"What happened?" Lady asked, staring right into her daughter's eyes.

"I cut myself," Annette explained, brushing away a few tears. "Remember how Anita dropped her teacup? I tripped on the shards!"

"Oh no!" Lady gasped, her heart pounding. "The glass is out, right?"

"Yes," Penny called out as Annette nodded. "I'm not ever gonna feel the same again!" she cried out, shaking as tears of pain rolled from her eyes.

"Don't worry," Tramp told her consolingly. "You'll be feeling better with a bit of rest and keeping that paw rested."

"You mean it Dad?" Annette asked, and Tramp nodded. "I've gotten through many scrapes and bruises... and with you having the blood of one of the toughest streetdogs in town, you're bound to get through all right."

Annette nodded appreciatively. "Thanks," she said with a smile.

"We're cleaning up the rest of the broken teacup," Perdita explained Lady as Patch and Penny nodded. "We're sweeping it up nice and carefully so no one else will get hurt by it."

Meanwhile, through the dim light, Pongo saw that the doors of the refrigerator were sitting right in front of him. Just like the candles they had lit, another spark of inspiration lit up in his mind. Grabbing a candle, he rushed through the kitchen and over to the front door. Opening up the dog door, he stuck his paw out to try to collect as much snow as he could until it became too cold. Hurrying back, he bent down to the only open spot near Annette by her tail and said, "Annette, this'll help soothe the pain."

Her eyes exhausted yet hopeful at the same time, Annette nodded, and Pongo placed some snow over her bleeding paw as Lady smoothed it gently over the wound. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A bit better," Annette said weakly. Lady smiled briefly before suddenly, a loud cry rang up from upstairs again. "Oh no! Junior!"

"Come on," Angel said. "You guys stay with Annette. The rest of us can help Junior!"

"We'll show you guys the way!" Puffball called out.

"He must be hungry," Rolly explained apprehensively. "I hope he won't eat puppies..."

"Only in his animal crackers, perhaps," Puffball answered teasingly.

"Yeah, well, that's gotta be the reason why he'd make a noise like that," Rolly said seriously.

"Maybe you're right," Spunky said hurriedly. "We've got to get him some food!"

"You puppies get up there and keep him busy," Peg told them. "Spunky and I will get him some …"

"Kibble?" Rolly asked hopefully.

"No, humans don't like kibble!" Cadpig shouted back. "Give him…"

"The graham crackers," Lady called out loudly. "The box is under the sink."

Hurriedly, Lucky volunteered, "I'll get it." He picked up a lit candle and asked, "Anyone else want to come?"

Nobody answered at first, before suddenly, Two-Tone raised her paw eagerly and said, "I will."

"Really Two-Tone?" Lucky asked, his voice suddenly excited and his tail wagging.

"Sure," said Two-Tone. "I could always do with a little adventure!" As she said that however, she felt her face get a bit warmer. Lighting another candle off of Lucky's, Two-Tone approached Lucky and carefully, the two walked slowly to the kitchen sink, ensuring they wouldn't crash into each other with their candles. Walking to the sink, they saw that Cadpig had just arrived at the cabinets, looking at them expectantly as they approached. "I'll open it," she volunteered, and jumping as high as she could, Cadpig grabbed the cabinet handles and swung open the door. Climbing into the cabinet, Lucky and Two-Tone looked around carefully, keeping their candles out of anything else's way, and searching for the box of graham crackers among the bottles and boxes of detergent and cleaning supplies. Lucky felt like it was digging for bones in the ground, but it felt different. Perhaps it was his imagination, but for some reason, this felt rather more warm and intimate than a bone dig. It was a feeling that Lucky had not really truly experienced before, and one that he couldn't help but to appreciate.

"Got it!" Two-Tone exclaimed, pushing the box of graham crackers with her front paw. Hurriedly but gently, she kicked the crackers out of the cabinet so as to get them away from the candles, and they landed softly on the kitchen floor.

"I'll carry it up," Peg volunteered, and she took the bag of graham crackers.

"We'll help you up," Lucky told her as Two-Tone nodded happily. The three of them then walked into the hallway, where Spunky was standing at the stairway, holding a candle in place.

"Great! Those'll make Junior happy!" Spunky called out appreciatively.

"He's upstairs," Peg told Lucky and Two-Tone and Lucky, and Two-Tone and Lucky held out their candles as Peg carried the bag of crackers up the stairs. As they went further and further upstairs, they saw that they were drawing closer and closer to more light.

"Is the electricity working up here?" Two-Tone asked confusedly.

"Don't think so," Lucky answered nervously.

As they drew closer to the room however, they saw that the light in the room was simply more candles, scattered around the floor. Rolly, Danielle, Puffball and Angel were each standing next to a candle, and each of them wore the same exhausted expression, with fear pulsating through their faces. In the middle of the room meanwhile, was Junior. He was wide awake, clumsily walking in his footie pajamas and swinging his arms left and right, crying fiercely. Cadpig, meanwhile, was frantically walking along his side, trying to keep up with his slow but big and abrupt movements, trying to talk to him.

"Junior ... I know you can't understand dog, but please ... You've got to do some positive self-talking," Cadpig barked desperately, breathing heavily with each word she spoke. "Think that ... You have a nice big house here ... All of us, your mommy and daddy ... who I know will we back soon…"

"Lights! Lights!" Junior called out, pointing to the candles. "Me want touch lights!"

With their expressions growing even more alarmed, Rolly, Danielle, Puffball and Angel each drew closer to their candle, determinedly standing over them as Cadpig frantically began to bark. "No! Please! You'd only get hurt by going…"

"Lights!" Junior continued, drawing closer.

"Ow!" Puffball screamed, for the candle singed a small bit of his grey, silky fur.

"Help!" Cadpig shouted. Hurriedly, Lucky took the crackers from Peg and said, "Cadpig, catch!"

"Huh? Oww…" Cadpig gasped. The box of crackers landed right on Cadpig, and since she was so small, it squished her to the ground. Crawling up from under the box, Cadpig scowled at her brother. "That hurt, Lucky!"

Just then, another loud scream burst out. Junior was drawing close to Puffball's candle.

"Don't! Please!" Puffball shouted, his eyes tearing up, and shaking his head, he jumped up, and gently yet firmly bit onto Junior's arm, to which Junior let out an enormous cry…

"We can't go on much longer!" Angel cried as Junior started to head toward her candle, swinging Puffball up and down as Puffball desperately tried to cling on.

"We've got the crackers!" Lucky exclaimed. Getting up, Cadpig opened up the box, and then she called out in the most motherly way she could, "Junior, I have something good! Crackers! Would you like some?"

Junior suddenly stopped looking at the candles as Cadpig opened the cracker box, smiling invitingly at him. At once, Junior began to sniff, for at that moment, a new smell began to penetrate through the room.

"The crackers," Puffball explained. "They're honey scented!" Hurrying, Junior licked his lips and crawled over to the crackers.

"That's right!" Cadpig continued, smiling sweetly at him. "Be a good boy and savor the crackers waiting for you!"

Junior smiled, grabbed the box, and began grabbing multiple crackers at once, shoveling them down his throat as quickly as he could.

"Whew," Danielle gasped, "One problem solved. That was scary!"

"He's not gonna be satisfied for long," Angel said cautiously. "I'll be right back. I've gotta get him milk. Junior always wants something to drink when he's hungry."

Grabbing her candle, Angel tore down the stairs as Junior continued to eat crackers. The others watched Junior, preparing for him to make a sudden, unexpected move. But instead, he just sat there, making happy noises, licking his lips, and rubbing his tummy happily.

"Well, he's not hungry anymore," Rolly said. "Maybe we should think about eating ourselves!"

"Not yet Rolly," Two-Tone told tensely. "We don't want any more problems to happen."

"Like what?" Rolly asked. "He's fed, he's gonna be watered, he's too young to..."

But before he could make another word, a sickening, squelching noise occurred, and though the room was lit by only a few candles, they could distinctly see a dark stain at the behind of Junior's pajamas.

"Is this what I think it is?" Puffball asked fearfully.

"Fraid so," Danielle gasped as a suffocating, filthy smell permeated through the room, causing many disgusted looks and covering of noses.

Just then, Angel returned, with a milk bottle clamped tightly in her mouth. "What's that smell?" she asked, frowning.

"Junior," Danielle explained simply. "He pooped."

"Why couldn't he go outside? Or at least use those things the other humans use? It stinks really bad!" Two-Tone shouted.

"We've got to remove his clothing," Peg sighed, dread emanating from her voice, and at once, she jumped up to Junior's shoulders and tried to pull down his clothes down. However, they wouldn't budge, and Peg flopped down to the floor, landing right near Junior's butt, looking disgusted. "Ugh… why aren't they coming off!" she asked as Junior continued to stuff down crackers.

"They're zipper pajamas," Angel explained. "Mom, you try the back again. "I'm gonna pull down the zipper in his front."

"Okay," Peg nodded. With a deep breath, Angel leaped up to Junior's neck, grabbed the zipper with her teeth, and pulled it down, while Peg removed the zipper from the back. Together, they managed to undress Junior, leaving him standing alone in the room, completely undressed. At once though, Junior began shivering, and then, he started crying again.

"He has no fur! He's gotta be really cold!" Rolly said.

"He needs new clothes," Danielle said hurriedly. "Wanna get them, Puffy?"

Puffball blushed a little bit before saying, "All right."

Danielle and Puffball hurriedly jumped on top of the dresser, and stretching their paws out as far as they could go, crouched down to pull open the top dresser drawer. With a mighty heave, they pushed open the drawer and grabbed a fresh pair of pajamas. Unfolding them, they each grabbed one side of the pajamas and laid them out on the ground. Then, Danielle and Puffball each pushed one of Junior's legs through the hole as Rolly, Angel, Two-Tone, and Peg all propped him up while Lucky shut the zipper of the new pajamas.

"Too bad he can't have fur like us," Puffball sighed.

"I know, right?" Danielle asked. "I don't know how Jim Dear and Darling do this!"

Junior continued to cry and cry, and he shouted all sorts of stuff.

"Oh Junior," Cadpig called out in that same motherly way. "Want some milk? I'm sure you will put on a happy face!"

Junior smiled, and Two-Tone rolled over the milk bottle. Though it was a bit warmer than it should be, Junior appreciatively felt the warm bottle, cooed in pleasure, and began to gulp it down.

"I think we've got him settled for now," Angel sighed in relief. The others nodded, knowing that Junior was settled, yet still anxiously awaiting for Jim Dear and Darling's return.


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, here we are with another chapter! I have decided to extend this story arc a bit more, with this chapter and the next being part of this arc before Chapter 10 and 11 get into the next part of the story. Thank you to XLR8 The Fox and EvilFrost-CHS for favoriting, following, and reviewing, and thanks to XLR8 The Fox for giving me ideas on how to work with his OCs. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney. XL, CiCi and Leo belong to XLR8. Please review this chapter, and favorite and follow if you like the story.**

Chapter 8 – Basement Banging

For a while, Junior continued to crawl around the room, investigating each little corner of a room just like any bored toddler would. During this time however, everyone's mood began to change as apprehension of what Junior would do next turned into pleasure of watching Junior's carefree, innocent antics. Seeing that things were going well, Peg went downstairs to let everyone know of the good news. Creeping out with one of the candles, she walked down the carpeted hallways, taking care not to trip in her long, silky fur. She saw Spunky was still waiting at the edge of the stairs patiently, still with candle in mouth.

"Hey sweetheart," Spunky asked as she walked down the stairs.

"Hiya dear," Peg greeted. "Junior's doing much better now."

"Great," Spunky told her. "Hey, would you mind holding the candle for a bit? Just I've been holding one for quite a while now and I don't need a burnt lip to go along with my broken leg."

Peg laughed. "Of course, sugar…"

Just then, Pongo walked from to the kitchen. "How are things going upstairs?"

"Junior's been fed, watered, changed and relieved himself," Peg explained. "I've just started covering the stairs. Spunky's been holding the candle for a while and needs a break."

"Yeah, good thinking," Pongo stated. But then he looked upstairs and said, "Only trouble is, no adults are upstairs now to keep an eye on Junior and the puppies. Lady and Tramp are still taking care of Annette, Perdy's still cleaning up the glass, I've got to get more snow to soothe her bleeding, and Spunky, I can't ask you go to up the stairs in either darkness or with a candle..."

"Hey! I can help!" a voice exclaimed, and turning, they saw the large form of CiCi approach, her white fur being tinged with orange from the glow of the candle.

"You're sure about that?" Pongo asked worriedly. "I thought you and XL were taking care of Leo."

"Leo's tough. He's a cat," CiCi explained. "He just needs some zees. Besides, XL's still watching him."

"I guess you're right," Pongo said. "Thanks for helping out."

"No prob!" CiCi answered cheerily, and she climbed up the stairs, and headed over to the bedroom. Pawing the door slightly open, she noticed the puppies were sitting around, with their candles still backed in their corners. In contrast to the noise she heard from upstairs while taking care of Leo, CiCi saw that it was surprisingly calm and peaceful in the room. Junior was curled up on the floor and sleeping soundly, shivering slightly with each breath he took. The puppies meanwhile, had expressions that were both tired and relieved.

"He looks just like one of us," Danielle snickered. "I didn't think humans did that."

"He must be really cold," Angel said wisely. Tiptoeing around him, she explained. "He needs a blanket."

"Or better yet, a nice, warm bed," Puffball sighed.

"Yeah, with a box of chicken nuggets by his side," Rolly said, licking his lips. "And I'll eat them with him!"

"How am I not surprised?" Cadpig teased.

"You're really missing out," Rolly suggested, pointing to her little stomach.

"I'd rather fill myself with knowledge and inspiration," Cadpig sighed.

"Suit yourself," Rolly said. "I'll take the nuggets."

"You guys really argue about the funniest things," CiCi laughed as she walked into the room. "How's everything going?"

"Pretty good," Two-Tone yawned. "Junior's gone back to sleep."

"He doesn't look very comfy," CiCi said, looking down at Junior's form shivering on the floor. "Here, let me."

Bending down, CiCi picked up Junior and put him back in the toddler bed, guarded by rails on either side. Instantly, Junior began to cuddle up with the blankets, cooing in his sleep.

"So cute…" Cadpig giggled. "I'm gonna watch over him sleep."

"Count me in too!" Rolly exclaimed. At once, Rolly jumped onto the bed. Stretching out to make himself as comfortable as he could, Rolly sighed, "Oh….this is the life." Feeling Rolly's presence, Junior cooed and then started to hug Rolly too. "I could always use a massage," Rolly sighed as his eyes drooped and he drifted off to sleep.

Just then, they heard a slight sound of scratching and growling. "That … is not … Conducive to normality," Cadpig pointed out. Then she screamed, "It's panic time!"

"Aww, come on Cadpig," Lucky said. "You don't really think there's anything…" he began, before a louder scratch rang out. "Wrong?" Lucky finished bleakly.

"Come on, let's check it out," Angel said, and Lucky, Two-Tone, Danielle and Puffball all nodded. Hurrying out, they approached the hallway, each with a candle in their mouth. Looking alert, they ran throughout the upstairs, checking each room to see if they could find the sound.

"Nothing up here," Two-Tone gasped, panting.

"Let's check out downstairs," Lucky suggested.

As they turned, they saw that CiCi was looking out at them… "Uh oh… I think XL's gone off duty."

"Wasn't he taking care of Leo?" Puffball asked exasperatedly, shaking his head.

CiCi shook her head. "He's even younger than you guys… and Leo's not the type to be fussed over. I bet XL took off because he went off to explore something."

They looked at each other for a brief moment before hearing a low, growling sound. "It sounds like it's coming from the basement," Angel gasped. "Who knows what he can get into down there."

Without another word, they ran down the stairs. "Hope he's not gonna get swallowed up by the basement monsters!" Danielle chortled macabrely. "They can be scary…. Ooh… Aaahh…. Ooh!"

Just then, they noticed that running towards them were Scamp, Collette, Patch, and Penny, all four of them were holding onto candlesticks. "That darned fox!" Collette gasped in frustration. "He's giving us all a heart attack!"

"He must be going crazy being in the house this long," Scamp reasoned, before muttering under his breath "And I know just how he feels."

"Guys!" Lucky called out. "He's not up here."

"He's in the…. The basement!" Danielle cried out dramatically, letting out a playfully evil cackle. "The monsters are gonna get him!"

Suddenly, Collette moved forward on her sister, and abruptly, whacked her sister hard on the nose. "Ow! What was that for?" Danielle asked bewilderedly.

"It's not funny! This is serious business!" Collette said, her voice tearful. "And don't…. Talk about him like that!"

"Huh?" Danielle gasped in confusion.

"Guys, the basement is this way!" Angel cried out, running down the hallway and beckoning to the others. Nodding, they charged down the hallway, until they reached the cellar doorway. To their horror, they noticed that the door was shut.

"The basement monsters got him!" Danielle gasped mysteriously.

Hurriedly, CiCi bounded over, and placed her paws on the door handle before opening the door. None of the puppies, not even the ones in Jim Dear and Darling's house, had ever been in the basement, so there was a natural sense of apprehension as the door swung open. At once, a powerful chill swept into the hallway.

"Whew! It's cold down there!" Scamp exclaimed.

"Must not be very well heated," Penny said thoughtfully. Upon adjusting their eyes and through the faint candlelight of their candles, they could see that the basement stairs were extremely narrow, just barely wide enough for Jim Dear or Darling to walk down comfortably.

"We've got to go down carefully, one at a time," Collette declared earnestly. Hurriedly, she tore in the doorway.

"Hey sis, wait up!" Scamp cried out, but she didn't listen. One by one, the other puppies followed Collette down the stairs until at last, they all reached the basement. Panting in exhaustion, they all took a moment to catch their breath before Patch said, "XL? Are you down here?"

"Yep, just a moment!" came a young voice.

They hurried through the basement, trying to cover every corner, with the only light coming from the candles, which were flickering perilously, with their dimming light under siege from the chilling sub-zero temperatures.

"XL?" Collette asked. "Are you all right?"

Just then, she felt something, seeming pretty big yet short enough to crawl by, run under her fur. Gasping, Collette screamed, jumping up into the air. While midair, she dropped her candle, which hit the ground and snapped in half. Luckily, the impact and the concrete was enough to let the candle burn out.

"What's wrong?" Penny asked, hurrying over, her worried features reflected in her little bit of candlelight.

Then, Collette felt a tackle to her side, and found herself lying with her back on the ground. Feeling her back coated with melted wax, Collette asked, "Who…"

But she stopped just as Penny and her candle arrived, and saw an impish expression on a narrow, thin face. "Cuddly!" XL gasped, putting his paws and Collette's ears.

"XL, what were you doing?" Penny asked as the others came other.

"You made us worried!" Angel exclaimed.

"I saw … a rat!" XL exclaimed. "It bit me, and I had to get back at it!"

Silent, the puppies heard some scurrying in the basement. "I hate rats," Scamp then muttered.

"What we've got to do XL, is keep you safe," Collette explained, giving him a soft smile. "Now, follow me up the stairs, okay?"

"Okay…if I can pet your ears," XL said excitedly.

"Sure thing," Collette sighed exasperatedly.

"All right!" XL cheered.

With the candles slowly dimming with the basement's immense cold, only Patch and Danielle's candles remained lit. "Sis, may I have your candle?" Collette asked.

"Sure, I was gettin' sick of holding onto it anyway," Danielle said in relief, gasping as she let it go. Trying to grab the little part of was not bitten by her sister, the little cocker spaniel walked up the stairs, with the little pet fox trailing right behind. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Collette realized that CiCi must have shut the door. "CiCi! We found him!" Collette called out.

At once, the door opened, and though it was cold upstairs, it felt like a tropical paradise next to the frigid basement. CiCi smiled in relief. "XL! There you are!"

"Hi CiCi!" XL greeted, and as promised, Collette lay down on the tile floor to let XL pet her ears.

"I guess let's all go too," Patch said. Leading the way with his candle, the puppies walked up the stairs single-file as each one slipped through the narrowly cracked basement door, trying to stop the icy basement air from getting to the rest of the house, all grinning amusedly as they saw that XL was kneading Collette's ears.

Danielle and Puffball were the last up the stairs, and stopped when they noticed XL was still playing with Collette's ears, having the time of his life. Collette's expression was hard to read, looking irritated and wincing with discomfort, yet at the same time, her eyes also looked a bit soft. "Hey! I didn't know you had a boyfriend!" Danielle called out excitedly.

"Boyfriend?" Collette asked. "I don't have a boyfriend!"

"Yeah right!" Danielle spat out eagerly.

"No, really…" Collette said.

Puffball gave her an apologetic glance before turning to Danielle and saying, "Hey Dani, what do you call a hydrant without a dog?"

"A fired hydrant!" Danielle spouted out eagerly. "I love jokes!" And with that, Danielle and Puffball eagerly began telling jokes to each other.

"What's a boyfriend?" XL asked curiously.

Collette and CiCi looked at each other, knowing XL was a bit too young to understand. "Well... let's just say it's a special somebody," Collette said at last.

"Oh! I like special things!" XL said. "Like your ears!"

CiCi giggled and Collette's eyes twinkled and she gave the little fox a small smile as they walked into the kitchen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, here we are with another chapter! This chapter takes place at the same time as Chapter 8, while the puppies are investigating XL downstairs. This chapter will be the last one of the current arc, before I'm gonna take a shift in tone where some tense and let's just say ... twisty events are going to happen! Thanks to XLR8 the Fox and EvilFrost-CHS for their favorites, follows, and reviews, thanks to Defender54 for the favorite, and if you like the story please favorite, follow and review if you have not done so already. XL, CiCi, and Leo belong to XLR8 the Fox. Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians belong to Disney.**

Chapter 9: Dinner Troubles

While the puppies were making sure XL didn't get up to too much mischief, the parents were hard at work in the kitchen. Lady and Tramp were still taking care of Annette, who was lying on the ground, still under great distress due to her bleeding paw. Gently, Lady stroked her back, sang softly to her, told her stories, and offered kind, comforting words, while Tramp threw in a few jokes and tried his hardest to make her laugh, all the while reassuring her that her injuries would heal. Nearby, Perdita was inspecting the tiles, making sure that all the shards of glass were safely in the dustbins and off the floor, and she asked Pongo to help her inspect the kitchen to make sure no more hazards were around. Lady had just finished telling Annette a story she had learned from her mother when Annette's stomach rumbled loudly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Annette said, sighing.

Lady looked at Annette, her eyes softening affectionately. "If anyone should apologize, it should be me. I should've realized that you must be getting hungry. After all, it must be getting near dinner time."

"Yeah, you're right Pidge," Tramp said eagerly. "I'm getting kinda hungry myself. Here… I'll get the food out."

Through the candles lit in the kitchen, Tramp could barely make out the cupboard where he knew the dog food was stored. Unfortunately, it was high up, and the only way for a dog to reach it would to get on top of the table. What's more, everyone knew that the table wasn't especially sturdy, especially for a heavier dog like Tramp, yet they knew he had to get the food for he had a long reach and was well-practiced at getting around obstacles.

"You'll be careful, right Tramp?" Lady asked worriedly.

"Promise Pidge," Tramp assured her, trying to sound as confident as he could. Pongo and Perdita then walked over, standing on the ground and placing their front paws on top of either side of the table.

"We'll hold the table in place so it doesn't slip," Pongo told Tramp. Tramp nodded understandingly. He knew it was important to be accurate in where he jumped, for if he slipped, he could easily knock over the table, break it, and potentially hurt Pongo and Perdita, as well as Lady and Annette, who remained underneath, and himself. Seriously, Tramp looked at the table. He had never jumped on the table before, for as a part of his education as a housedog, Jim Dear and Darling made it clear to him that it wasn't good behavior. However, his streetdog side was still alive and raring to go within him, and he was determined to make that great bound forward.

Taking a few steps back, Tramp sprang forward and lunged at the table. Though he slipped on the tablecloth a little bit, causing quite a lot of it to drape off the table, Pongo and Perdita held onto the tablecloth edges determinedly, and Tramp remained comfortably on the table. He then reached over and pawed open the cabinet door, to which he saw the dog food lying amidst other bags and boxes. Keeping his legs as still as possible so as not to move the table, Tramp brought out his neck as far as it would go and reached out for the bag of kibbles. Every time he tried to tried to clench his teeth around the bag though, kept on biting at nothing. Frustratedly, Tramp sighed. Getting the food out of the cupboard was proving to be harder than he would have ever thought.

"Come on Tramp," Lady told him encouragingly. "I know you can do it!"

Hearing his wife's encouraging words convinced Tramp to try again. With concentration and attention to all of his body parts, he stood on the very tips of his paws and stretched his neck out so far that it ached. Knowing that he could not position himself any better than this, Tramp pushed his head into the cupboard. Clenching his teeth and missing several times, Tramp finally felt the soft foil of the bag in the corner of his mouth. Breathing a sigh of relief, as he brought his head back, Tramp suddenly felt the weight of the bag overpowering the strength of the grip. With a last great heave, Tramp pulled his head out of the cupboard before letting the bag of food drop onto the floor. Breathing a big sigh of relief, Tramp jumped off the table and smiled at Lady, Annette, Pongo, and Perdita.

"You are so neat, Dad!" Annette told Tramp affectionately.

"Thanks! That was fun, I need to do more this often," Tramp joked as everyone chuckled.

He then went to grab the bag, but to his horror, the massive bag of dog food looked limp and flabby, and upon picking it up, it felt surprisingly light. "Oh no…" Tramp sighed.

"What's wrong?" Perdita asked anxiously.

"The dog food bag," Tramp said shortly. "There's not that much left."

"Jim Dear and Darling have not gotten food in a while," Lady sighed.

"Fortunately it's a big bag," Pongo said. "It's got to be, in order to feed… how big is your family?"

"Ten," Lady said.

"Right, so with ten in your family, eight in our family, plus XL, CiCi, and Leo, we've got twenty-one mouths to feed," Pongo said.

"Count me out," Leo called out from the other side of the room. "I don't like dog food."

"Are you sure?" Perdita asked gently. "You really must have something to eat."

Leo shook his head. "I'll be all right. Since your basement has not been cat-proofed, you must still have a bunch of pests in your basement. I'll gladly eat there, even a bug would be delicious."

"But what about your paw?" Lady asked.

Leo shook his head. "How cats hunt," Leo said, "Is the art of surprise. If you are sneaky enough, there's only so much you've got to move."

"Do you want one of us to take you there?" Pongo asked thoughtfully.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry yet," Leo said, yawning and putting his head back down on his paw again and dozing off. "I'll appreciate it if one of you could later though."

"We'd be glad to help," Perdita told Leo, smiling at him.

Pongo then said, "Well, not counting Leo, that makes twenty," Pongo said, before Annette called out, "Mom? Dad? I… I don't need anything."

Lady hurriedly rushed over to her daughter, still lying down. "Are you not feeling well?"

"No, it's not that," Annette said weakly. "Just… you guys have done enough taking care of me because I stupidly trod on that glass… the least I can do is not be a burden by taking your food."

Lady shook her head. "You're not a burden, Annette," she told her seriously, and with great passion, she bent down to speak right into Annette's ear and said, "You are my special daughter. You give me inspiration to help me get up every morning, always brightening up my life with your spirit, and I love you with all of my heart."

"Hey, it's been a while since I've heard that kinda sweet stuff," Tramp teased, causing everyone to snicker.

Lady playfully smiled at Tramp and said, "Well, you'll just have to wait your turn," she smiled playfully, making Annette giggle and laugh. Turning back to her daughter, Lady said seriously, "Annette, you are not a burden, okay? Please promise me you will stop thinking like that, because you are truly wonderful and I love you so much."

"Okay Mother," Annette nodded. "I'll have half my usual portion then. Just because we don't have much food."

Lady smiled and hugged her daughter, to which Annette smiled and nodded. Carefully, Lady went to pick up Annette's blue food bowl and took care to fill it up halfway. Carrying it gently, Lady said, "Here you go, Annette." Annette smiled at her mother and said, "Thanks Mom. Is it okay if I wait for the others though? I'd rather do things as a family."

Lady smiled affectionately at her daughter. "Of course, sweetheart," and gave her a soft lick on the cheek.

Just then, Peg and Spunky entered the room. "I was just thinking about dinner," Spunky said happily.

Tramp nodded. "We're just getting started. We're only filling up everyone's bowl halfway though because we don't have a lot."

"Good thinking," Peg said. "Rather go a bit light than have nothing to eat down the line."

Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky then proceeded to fill up their bowls halfway, along with Scamp's, Angel's, Collette's, Danielle's, and Puffball's. Meanwhile, Pongo and Perdita looked at each other anxiously, for it had just occurred to them that they had left their food bowls behind at home.

"Are there any extra bowls?" Pongo asked anxiously, breaking the nervous silence.

"Yeah, they're in the big drawer to the left of the sink," Tramp explained. Pongo and Perdita walked over and looked to see to their relief a set of clean bowls, sitting and waiting for them. Carefully prodding them out, they managed to get five bowls before realizing they were still two short.

"Pongo, would you mind sharing a plate?" Perdita asked, as she pulled out a dinner plate from the drawer.

"Not at all," Pongo smiled, some twinkling in his eyes. "It would be a nice romantic touch."

Perdita rolled her eyes as she set the plate down, but couldn't help smiling a little bit. But then another thought hit her with a bang and she gasped, "Oh no…"

"What is it?" Lady asked worriedly.

"The bowls are all the same size," Perdita answered shortly.

"Well, isn't that the way you'd want it?" Tramp asked.

Pongo shook his head. "The puppies all normally have different amounts, since they have different bodies and different preferences. What's overwhelming to Cadpig is a morsel to Rolly. Normally we do just fine, since each puppy has their our custom bowl, but… I can't remember the exact portions Nanny gives us, do you?"

Perdita shook her head. "I guess we'd just have to guess," she explained simply.

"So let's see… maybe you and I get a coating of chow covering the whole plate…" Pongo suggested. "And Rolly would want to get the most, and Cadpig would not want to get that much."

"Yes, but Cadpig still needs enough not to be hungry. And we've got to be sure that Patch doesn't get less than Lucky. After all, we can't have Patch feeling jealous again," Perdita said worriedly.

"Yes, but not by much, they're the same size," Pongo added. "And blimey, we haven't seen Two-Tone eat regularly for a while, I can't remember how much she gets..."

"What about Penny? I feel bad, we haven't mentioned her yet…"

"Well, I guess we've got to try," Pongo said anxiously. Hurriedly, they scooped out six half bowls and then started looking at the piles. The bowls of kibble were roughly equal, yet there were slight size variations in between them.

"This one's a bit bigger, so I guess Rolly gets it," Pongo said.

"Let's give Two-Tone the next biggest one," Perdita agreed.

They then anxiously looked at the next four bowls, trying to find the most evenly matched pair they could for Lucky and Patch.

"Let's make sure they're really close," Pongo said as Perdita nodded.

At last, and after some rearranging of chow, Pongo and Perdita finally had two very similar bowls for Lucky and Patch. Breathing a sigh of relief, they then put together a medium bowl for Penny and a slightly smaller but still substantial meal for Cadpig. They then gently placed over the bowls next to the bowls of Lady and Tramp's puppies, but upon arriving there, they gasped.

"Oh Pongo! These bowls are so much shorter!" Perdita exclaimed.

Pongo shook his head. "Yeah, but they're also deeper. Their bowls don't go all the way to the ground."

"Maybe we can try comparing them," Peg began, but at that moment, they were interrupted. Suddenly, a cavalcade of puppies rushed into the kitchen, all wagging their tails excitedly. Upon looking up, the parents realized that nearly all the puppies but Annette and Collette were standing expectantly, looking at them.

"Food time!" Rolly exclaimed. "I'm really hungry!"

Anxiously, the parents looked at each other, wondering where to begin. At last, Tramp said, "Hey guys, well, dinner's ready, but just letting you know, we don't have that much food and with so many of us … well, we've got to ration."

"What's that mean?" Danielle asked.

"It means… eat less," Tramp finished.

"What?" Rolly asked indignantly, and many of the other puppies looked at each other in disbelief. "I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, it's been hours since any of us have eaten!" Danielle shouted in protest.

Most of the puppies began muttering in disbelief, but meanwhile, Angel and Puffball looked at each other, both with a look of understanding in their eyes. Nodding, the two emerged from the crowd of puppies and stood in between the parents and the other puppies. Hurriedly, Puffball cried, "Listen guys! It could be a lot worse!"

The other puppies looked at Puffball skeptically. "How?" Rolly asked, as if Puffball had given him a nasty insult.

"Well, we have food," Puffball explained. "We don't have to fight over it, we won't be attacked while eating it..."

"And we know our food is safe to eat, and we get to share it with everybody we love and care about," Angel continued. "Maybe we get a little less, but really, we've got a lot to be grateful for."

The parents looked at each other, all at first a bit surprised with their maturity. Upon thinking a little bit more, they understood where Angel and Puffball were coming from. Out of all the puppies, they were the only ones who lived life in the streets, struggling to find food on a daily basis and often having to fight over the merest scraps. Evidently, the other puppies began to realize this as well as they looked at Angel and Puffball with increasing understanding, realizing what they've been through and feeling more and more appreciative of what they had.

Looking down at the ground before facing them, Penny then stepped forward and said, "Sorry… I guess I just didn't think about it like that." Scamp, Danielle, Lucky, Two-Tone, Patch and Cadpig nodded in agreement, understanding gleaming through their eyes. Only Rolly still looked skeptical, until he shrugged and said, "I guess you're right… though how anyone can live without much food I don't know."

Looking relieved, the parents slowly stepped aside, and showed the puppies the food bowls they had prepared. To their relief, all of the puppies, even Rolly, looked at their food bowls with a new appreciation, for they saw not just a source of bodily nourishment, but also a reminder how they were all together in one big, very close-knit and happy family, all eating the same food together, side by side.

"Hey, instead of gulping down our food, why don't we try savoring it?" Patch asked thoughtfully as they all approached the bowls. "You know, so we can enjoy the fresh taste of chow melt in our mouths and fully appreciate it before moving on to more."

"Yeah, and we can make a game out of it!" Scamp said. "Whoever takes the longest to finish wins?"

"Good idea!" Angel exclaimed excitedly. "But no cheating… we've got to keep eating the whole time."

"Aww, shoot!" Cadpig shouted. "I would win easy if I could just meditate from start to finish!"

Everyone laughed and then struck up conversation after conversation, knowing that while their dinners may not have been as big as normal, they at least had safe food to eat in a nice house and a big, happily family to share dinner with, which upon thinking about, brought a warm, filling feeling to their stomachs and hearts.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi and welcome back with another chapter! Thanks for reading this far: when I started, I honestly didn't know if I was going to get this far with this project, but now I'm fully committed, with many ideas in store for how to go forward! I want to thank all of my readers for reading, but especially XLR8 the Fox and EvilFrost-CHS for favoriting, following and reviewing. As always, CiCi, XL, and Leo belong tot XLR8 the Fox, and Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their universes belong to Disney.**

Ch. 10 – Doors and Windows

As dinner continued, Collette, CiCi, and XL arrived. Collette hurriedly went over to her bowl and began to eat gratefully. XL and CiCi grabbed their own bowls and portioned themselves, and after CiCi took Leo down to the basement for him to hunt for a meal, XL and CiCi returned to eat. The two of them however, didn't catch on to the fact that the others were all trying to savor their meals, and as such, were done well before anyone else.

"Maybe we should check on Leo," CiCi suggested. "He's probably getting lonely down there."

"Uh-huh… Okay," XL answered. So CiCi grabbed a candle and the two of them set off to the basement.

"Whew! It's a good thing I grew my coat out," CiCI said as they entered the chilly basement. They quickly went down and saw that Leo was eating the rat that had attacked XL earlier. Trying not to look too closely at the gruesome sight, XL said, "Hey Leo!"

Leo looked up, instantly covering his prey with his paws and waiting to finish his bite before saying, "Hello you two. What's going on?""

"We finished our dinner and we just want you to have company," CiCi explained as XL began to sniff around the basement once again.

Leo smiled. "Thanks guys, but you really didn't need to."

"We want to," CiCi said. "It's been a while since the three of us have been together like this."

Leo nodded, before saying, "I miss home… and our pets. I hope Scavenger got out of surgery all right…" Sighing, Leo continued, "And I know they must be missing us."

"They should be coming back soon," CiCi consoled him.

"And we've got to return home soon," Leo said earnestly. "If they get home and we're not there, they'd be really worried."

CiCi nodded, before her eyes brightened and said, "Hey! Let's put on a big bash for them like these guys here had."

"Good idea!" exclaimed XL, who bounded back over to them.

Leo agreed, and leaving the rat down in the basement, the three of them went up the stairs and entered the kitchen. They arrived to find the others were just finishing up their meal.

"We've got to go home now," Leo explained.

"It was really fun meeting you guys!" XL exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was real fun meeting you too," Patch told him among murmurs of agreement.

"Feel free to come whenever you'd like," Lady told them appreciatively.

"Yeah, we can invite Uncle Jock and Uncle Trusty and all the ex-junkyard dogs over so we can have a whole neighborhood party!" Scamp exclaimed.

Chatting pleasantly, several of the dogs and puppies grabbed candles and everyone, except Annette, still lying down from her injury, followed XL, CiCi and Leo to the front door, exchanging goodbyes.

"I wanna use it first!" XL said excitedly, his tail wagging. CiCi and Leo agreed, for XL would have the easiest time getting through, being both small and without injury. Taking a running start, XL backed up excitedly and ran towards the dog door, leaping right into the flap. The moment he pushed it open though, he felt an instant mass of cold touch every fur on his body. Before he knew it, he suddenly felt a thud, and he realized he was lying belly-up on Jim Dear's doormat, with a pile of snow on his belly. Shaking his head, he looked at the dogs who lived there, all of whom looked just as bewildered as he did.

"What happened?" XL asked.

"You jumped… and you fell back in here," Penny answered confusedly.

"Try again," Lucky told him.

Nodding, XL backed up, gritting his teeth in concentration. Perhaps this was an old dog door that just didn't open all the way. But then what was that mass of cold he felt, and why was snow on his belly along with him? Aiming for the exact right spot, he took in a deep breath and then raced toward the door and with a mighty heave, jumped through again. To his horror though, once again he found himself falling backwards, landing on the snow that he brought in from his first attempt, with more snow on his belly again.

Returning, everybody gasped. Tramp hurried over to the door and pushed his paw out as far as it could go. At once, Tramp recoiled it, and more snow fell into the house. Shaking his head, Tramp said, "There's no end to it. It's all snow out there."

"What does that mean?" XL asked nervously.

"I think…. We're snowed in," Leo said, staring at the ground. "We're trapped in here."

As this thought dawned on everyone, panic began to fall on them.

"Oh no! We can't go home!" Cadpig exclaimed, hurriedly fidgeting about.

"There's no way out!" Lucky cried out in horror.

Hurriedly, Lady then turned and ran up the stairs, stopping at the landing. With the faint light of her candle, she could see the wall where she knew Jim Dear and Darling's stained glass window overlooking the backyard was. However, upon looking at the wall, instead of the tinted view of the backyard that the window brought, a thick sheen of white lay in front of her.

"What's wrong Pidge?" Tramp asked.

"The window," Lady explained. "It's gone."

Desperately, Lady prodded the window gently with her paw. To her shock, a bunch of snow immediately fell from the window, and Lady gasped at the sight that lay before her, causing everyone else to race up to the landing and upon looking out, similar expressions of shock and horror formed on each of their faces. In the yard lay a thick, solid mass of snow covering every inch of the yard, standing as tall as the whole first story of the house. And even as they spoke, thick gusts of snow flew by, adding to the ever immense amounts of snow.

"I've … never seen snow like this before," Perdita said nervously, turning to her husband. "Have you?"

"No," Pongo said, his tone anxious. "This is really bad…"

"Where are Jim Dear and Darling?" Collette asked fearfully, shivering a bit as she spoke. "Why aren't they back yet?"

"Dunno," Scamp shrugged, though fear coated his eyes too. Puffball in particular though, had a look of despair in his eyes. Danielle saw this unusually sad look on her boyfriend, and she bounded over to hug him and asked, "Puffy… what's wrong?"

Puffball was silent for a bit as Danielle looked into his eyes concernedly, before finally saying, "Did they… forget about us?" his eyes wide with worry.

"Puffball, I'm sure Jim Dear and Darling would never forget about us," Lady said, trying to put on as brave of a face as she could. "They would never leave us, no matter what."

"Well, I'm not gonna just sit here," Scamp growled determinedly. "I'm gonna get out!"

"How?" Two-Tone asked perplexedly.

Scamp smiled and said, "I'm gonna break right through the window!"

Angel's eyes widened in horror. "Scamp, no!" she gasped.

But Scamp didn't listen. Giving the windows a determined look, he ran forward and leaped toward the window. In an instant, Penny, who was sitting nearest the window, instinctively realized there was only one thing to do. Hurriedly, she leaped straight up into the air, and batted Scamp away on the nose. Then the two of them both fell on the floor with a bang as a sound of breaking glass occurred from a distance. Scamp looked at Penny indignantly as he stood up and asked, "Gee Penny, why did you do that? Just like you blocked Patch at Cruella's!"

"Because like with Patch, I just saved your neck!" Penny exclaimed defensively.

"No you didn't! I was gonna find a way out!" Scamp retorted.

"Better to be trapped in here if we're all safe," Penny continued.

"We'd starve if we'd remained trapped here!" Scamp continued.

"At least we wouldn't freeze because of a broken window…" Penny began, before Cadpig asked, "Please stop arguing! We are family, and we should stop fighting with each other."

Taking a breather, everyone was quiet until Pongo cleared his throat and said, "Let's all work together, all right? We know we can't be stuck in here forever, yet at the same time, we cannot do anything hasty. We'd probably have to wait for at least some of the snow to melt, otherwise, we'd just get lost in the snow."

"Well I wouldn't," Rolly responded. "I know how to get rid of it."

"How?" Collette asked, confused.

"Snow is just water," Rolly explained. "And we can all drink water, right? So why can't we eat the snow?"

"There's only room for one dog to eat through the dog door though," Puffball pointed out.

"And that'll be me," Rolly explained simply. "I love eating! I can eat all that snow, no problem!"

"Rolly, even you couldn't eat that much up," Lucky smirked.

"Oh yeah?" Rolly dared. "I can eat so much…"

But Rolly never got a chance to finish his sentence. Suddenly, they could hear a series of scraping noises coming eerily from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Puffball asked fearfully.

"Annette?" Lady called out, remembering through all the confusion that her daughter was still lying under the table, recovering from her injury. "Are you okay?"

But there was no clear response right away. Instead, there was a garbled sound that nobody could fully understand.

"Annette!" Tramp shouted, calling at her daughter. "What's going on?"

Another garbled sound came in. "That's it," Tramp said tensely. "I'm checking it out."

Then however, a tinkling of objects and the sounds of frantic movement occurred. "H….H…. Help!" Annette shouted.

"Oh no!" Lady gasped. Hurriedly, she tore down the stairs, with Tramp by her side as the others bounded down in a massive wave of dog, cat and fox as they entered the kitchen.

"Am I c…crazy or is it rea…really cold down here?" Patch asked, shivering with every syllable he spoke.

"No Patch, I … I'm feel…feeling it too," Penny answered.

"Wh…. What happened?" Perdita asked, shivering.

"I don't know Perdy," Pongo answered worriedly. "What…What is going on?"

As they proceeded into the kitchen, all of them felt the increasing cold to an even greater extent. Then abruptly, Collette gasped.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked.

"Annette! She's not under the table!" Collette cried out.

"Help!" came Annette's voice. Hurrying over with candles in mouths, they saw that Annette was still lying down, but hastily crammed in a corner between two cupboards. Lady hurried forward to touch her injured daughter, and to her horror, saw that her fur was surprisingly wet.

"Oh Annette! Thank goodness you're all right! What happened?" Lady asked fearfully.

Annette didn't answer right away, instead, shaking her head in terror.

Meanwhile, Leo had been investigating the room, and then grimly, he told the others, "I know exactly what happened."

"Huh?" XL gasped.

"Cats!" Leo exclaimed.


	11. Chapter 11

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN SOME ELEMENTS THAT MAY MAKE SOME READERS UNCOMFORTABLE. I wasn't going to include this portion at first, but for the sake of realism, this subject is unavoidable considering that these are dogs locked in a house for hours. This is not an essential plot point, so if you feel like skipping over it, I have put in place lines to separate the start and stop of it. Don't worry if you choose not to read, all that is important in that segment is an answer to a realism question.**

 **There will also be some other themes introduced in this chapter that will be heavily present in the next few chapters or so, but won't take up the remaining part of the story by any means. This will include a (possible) pairing I've hinted at a few times earlier in the story.**

 **Thank you to everyone for reading, and special thanks to to XLR8 the Fox and EvilFrost-CHS for reviewing, favoriting and following. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their universes belong to Disney.**

Chapter 11: A Shift in Tone

"Cats?" Lucky asked. "How could cats just magically appear?"

Then, Perdita gasped. "Look up there!"

Turning their heads, the others gasped as they saw that the kitchen window looking out into the backyard suddenly had a big pile of snow sitting by it. Looking to investigate it, they then saw as they drew nearer and nearer that above the snow pile, the window had been unmistakably smashed. Glass shards lay around everywhere, from the pile of snow to the counter by the window and the floor all around.

"Darling's china!" Lady exclaimed abruptly. She exchanged a look with the fellow members of her household, looking darkly significant. Darling had a few ceramic plates she had gotten as a birthday gift from her now deceased mother that she had been planning on using for Christmas. Now though, they were gone….

"Cats did this?" Scamp asked, to which Leo nodded his head.

"Not just any cats," a voice came from the other side of the room. Heading back, they saw Annette was looking up at them sadly. "I should've stopped them…"

"Who?" Danielle asked her sister earnestly.

Annette paused a little bit before saying, "I think it was …. Si and Am. I don't know… I couldn't see much in the dark, but I did see two pairs of narrow blue eyes… They broke through the window… It all got really cold. One of them grabbed my mouth to stop me from barking and pushed me over here, and the other nabbed the china…Before I could do anything, they were gone…"

"No one's faulting you Annette," Angel told her, wrapping her paw around her head kindly. "It could've happened to anyone, especially with a bad foot like yours."

Just then though, a particularly fierce gust of wind blew, dropping more snow on the heap stationed outside the window.

"Well, we've got to stop the snow somehow," Pongo sighed. "Anything we can use to block the window?"

"Maybe," Puffball replied hesitatingly, looking for Lady and Tramp as if asking for permission. "We could use a sofa cushion. It's big and can block out the cold air and snow."

"Good thinking," Tramp told Puffball appreciatively. "We'd better set one up."

So Perdita, Pongo, Tramp and CiCi, being the biggest dogs in the house, set off to the living room to pick up the heavy cushion. Leo tagged along riding CiCi's back, telling them the direction to the sofa and helping them keep out of danger. When they arrived, they approached uncertainly, trying to lift the cushion without damaging or tearing it in the slightest. Softly biting uncertainly, Pongo, Perdita, Tramp and CiCi each grabbed one of the top corners of the cushion, trying to pull it out of the sofa. Unfortunately, after several attempts, the cushion only budged a little.

"We've got to do it all together," Pongo said. "Let's all pull… now!"

With a heave, the four dogs lifted the cushion out of the sofa. Swinging frantically, they brought the cushion to ground level, trying desperately to hang on the little bit of cushion they held onto to prevent it from falling.

"You guys have got to walk backwards," Leo told Pongo and Perdita, for he saw that they were standing facing in an opposite direction from the kitchen. "Don't worry, I'll guide you back."

Nodding in understanding, they proceeded to slowly but steadily walk to the kitchen, trying their hardest to not have the cushion drag on the floor and get all dirty and soiled. At last, they reached the kitchen, where they could see much bettle with several candles brightly lighting the room.

"Let's not get too close to the window," Perdita warned. "We wouldn't want to step in any glass shards."

"Okay then!" CiCi exclaimed. "How about we just throw it into position?"

Looking at each other anxiously, the others reluctantly agreed. Swinging the cushion back and forth, they threw it into place as it squished the pile of snow and landed on the counter's surface. It wasn't a perfect fit, but at least the sofa cushion was a solid, large mass to block the cold out.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Scamp suddenly said, "I've gotta go really bad."

At once, many of the others murmured in agreement. "We can't do it here though," Collette said. "Everything would smell disgusting then!"

"Yeah, but I really need to go too," Patch said.

"We could go out the dog door," Lucky suggested.

"Oh no. I'm not gonna freeze my tail off!" Rolly retorted.

"Or we could try the basement," Two-Tone reasoned.

"Nuh-uh, not where I eat my dinner!" Leo cried out indignantly.

"And we don't want to damage Jim Dear and Darling's things," Spunky said.

Lady, meanwhile, had begun to wonder something. How exactly did Jim Dear and Darling do it? How did they relieve themselves while always remaining inside? Seeing her lost in thought, Danielle asked, "What is it Mom?"

"I was just thinking… Maybe we should relieve ourselves like Jim Dear and Darling and Roger and Anita do," Lady suggested.

"How do we do that?" Rolly asked perplexedly.

"They go into there," Angel explained, pointing to a door outside the kitchen.

Uncertainly, they approached the door and opened it up. Standing in front of them was a small room with a tiled floor, and a weird chair thing standing in the room's corner, with a strange roll of paper towel situated at its side. Standing on the opposite side was a strange thing that looked like a birdfeeder with two knobs on top. In the corner lay a large indent in the room, draped off with some kind of curtain.

Lady stepped into the room as the others watched her, and peering into the bowl, she saw that the bowl was made up of nothing more than water. Suddenly getting an idea, Lady jumped onto the seat, and before she realized what she was doing, felt all of the discomfort in her body drain away from her as she relieved herself. Jumping off the seat, Lady suddenly smiled.

"What did you do?" Scamp asked, entering the room curiously.

"I…relieved myself in this bowl thing," Lady said uncertainly.

"What's this thing do?" Patch asked, who also entered the room, looking at a funny knob at the chair's side. Jumping up and pressing down on it, suddenly, a loud rushing sound took place, and before they knew it, the waste disappeared and was replaced by clear water.

At once, they cheered and the rest of the puppies, Peg and Spunky walked into the small room, cramming in to fit. "I think…" Lady explained to everyone, smiling, "We all just relieve ourselves in this bowl thing."

"Okay," Angel said curiously. Hopping onto it, she stood on it, did her thing, and jumped off. Following her example, all of the other puppies followed her lead. Meanwhile, Peg and Spunky approached Lady.

"Wow, how did you think of that, dearie?" Peg asked. "I was gettin' pretty worried. Glad we could do our thing and not make Jim Dear and Darling mad."

"I don't know… I guess it's just come with living here so long and watching Jim Dear and Darling," Lady explained. "I've learned a lot about them from my puppyhood days with them when it was just them and me… I only had them, so I guess I just followed their moves."

"I wish we could get to know them as well as you," Spunky told Lady.

"You will with time, starting when they return," Lady said kindly. Looking at Peg and Spunky's apprehensive faces, Lady understood. They had spent so much time as streetdogs that having a caring pair of pets was still an unusual concept for them. Sighint, Lady then said gently, "But know this, they will return. You can bet your paw on it. I know your experiences with humans haven't been the best, but you can always count on Jim Dear and Darling to always love you."

Peg and Spunky nodded understandingly just as Two-Tone, the last puppy in line, jumped off the seat. "Well, I guess it's our turn then," Peg said, and she got on and Lady then went to get Annette to do her business and then went to let the others who were moving the cushion about the new way to relieve themselves.

* * *

Shortly afterwards, everyone, now relieved and more comfortable now that the cushion was blocking off the cold, was in a much better mood. Gathering on the kitchen floor, everyone spent time lightly chatting or just appreciating each other's company before at last, Danielle yawned loudly and groaned, "I'm tired…."

Having heard the grandfather clock ring for increasingly long stretches, everyone knew that it must be getting later and later into the night. After all agreeing it would be a good time to go to bed, Jim Dear and Darling's dogs headed straight to their beds. Lady and Tramp shared a bed, as did Scamp and Angel, Peg and Spunky, and Danielle and Puffball. Annette needed to sleep on her own to avoid her bleeding paw from being uncomfortably prodded, and XL begged to sleep next to Collette's velvety ears, so she smiled and agreed to share the bed with him. This left the Dalmatians, CiCi, and Leo without beds. However, this was quickly solved as Pongo and Perdita went and got the other back cushion and one of the seat cushions for themselves, got two pillows for Rolly and Two-Tone, being the biggest puppies, got Leo a soft piece of carpet with a blanket, and CiCi shared the remaining seat cushion with Penny, Patch, Lucky, and Cadpig, which ended up being a surprisingly comfortable fit.

As time drifted, most of the puppies and dogs, tired out with a long day, fell soundly asleep. However, one of them, no matter how much she tossed and turned, couldn't fall asleep. Looking down at her green pillow, adorned with a dark flower pattern, Two-Tone envied the others, sleeping s.o easily. There was Rolly, sound asleep and licking his lips. Two-Tone smirked, for she knew undoubtedly what Rolly was dreaming about. Looking at her other adopted siblings in their sleep, Two-Tone saw that Cadpig looked deep in thought, Patch looked like he was running, Penny was staying still and smiling, and Lucky had his arms stretched out, smiling softly as he slept. She looked at all of her adopted siblings, especially Lucky, whom she realized whenever she looked at him, she suddenly felt a bit warm inside.

Then she looked at Pongo and Perdita. She noticed how happy they looked together, side by side, their front paws wrapped tightly together. Even though she was only their adopted daughter, so often she had looked at them as her mom and dad and through the love they had for her that she forgot that they were also especially close to each other. They looked way too close just to be cohabitants, the way they nuzzled each other like that.

Looking around at the other family of dogs, she saw even more of this close, strange intimacy. There lay Lady and Tramp, her long, velvety ear draped over his head, sleeping peacefully as Tramp, his head slightly angled to face Lady's, also slept just as soundly. In the next bed over, she saw Peg and Spunky, with similar expressions of profound peace and delight, Peg's thick, plumy tail wrapped around her boyfriend's back, thoroughly covering his short, smooth coat. Nearby were Scamp and Angel, who she just realized were the son and daughter of each of those couples, The two of them were lying on their sides in their soft bed, hugging each other as they both smiled at each other in their sleep. Right next to Annette's blanket was Collette's bed, who looked at peace with XL, even though they knew each other for less than a day. Lastly lay Danielle and Puffball, both with long, floppy ears, breathing in together deeply as Danielle's left ear and Puffball's right ear drooped over their lovers' shoulder. She looked at them, and suddenly realized that she would like to be sleeping with someone just like they were…. And not just any someone.

Crawling quietly off her pillow, Two-Tone waddled over to her siblings, and looked down at Lucky. She smiled and couldn't help staring at Lucky for moment upon moment. She felt tired and could easily have gone back to bed, but for some reason, her legs felt glued to the ground, wanting to remain standing by Lucky's side. When she lifted a paw to go though, to her shock, she found herself suddenly touching Lucky's face. Lucky mumbled a few times but did not seem to notice. Drawing her paw back worriedly and checking to make sure everyone was still asleep, she suddenly felt incredibly hot and uncomfortable with what she had done. Looking at her pillow, she knew she had no chance of getting back to sleep now, or even trying, for her heart rate was far too fast. Instead, she grabbed a candle and hurried up the stairs, her heart suddenly racing really fast. Why did she do that? What was she thinking?

Two-Tone sat and thought, still wide-eyed and awake. It was a good thing the others were asleep, she thought. Looking at the stained glass window, she saw a bit of her own reflection, wide-eyed and scared. But the very next moment, she heard footsteps in the house, coming from the kitchen. Hurriedly, she whipped around, but saw nobody was there. Relaxing her shoulders a bit, she then gasped as she saw that Lucky was walking out of the kitchen, but to her surprise, was grinning. "So it wasn't a dream," Lucky said, beaming at her.

"What wasn't?" Two-Tone asked nervously.

"You…you petted me," Lucky answered.

"Wha?" Two-Tone asked, pretending to be dumb. When she saw he wasn't fooled, she begged, "Sorry Lucky! I didn't mean to…"

Lucky however, shook his head. "I've been dreaming of you at nights," he said excitedly. "Ever since you came back … ever since our first dance at the Four Legged Ball… through all we've done today, doing that dance, getting the crackers, watching the baby, keeping XL out of trouble… I love you Two-Tone. I really have. Always. I just… didn't want to deal with Mooch…"

Two-Tone, however, beamed. "You don't know how much I've always wished to hear that," she exclaimed and suddenly, she leaned forward and gently tackled Lucky onto the ground, where they pushed each other onto the ground, licking each other's faces over and over again. Just then, the clock rang twelve times.

"Well, a new day, a new love is born," Two-Tone said, to which Lucky nodded eagerly.

"Just…let's let Mom and Dad know about it gently," Lucky said. "We don't want them to be shocked about it."

"Right," Two-Tone said. "I guess I'll go back to my pillow then."

"But that doesn't mean you can't bring your pillow closer to ours," Lucky suggested.

Two-Tone's eyes lit up and she nodded as together, the two puppies headed back to the kitchen and this time, really did comfortably fall asleep.

High above in the clouds, a small, fluffy white dog stood on a cloud. She had a pair of wings, some gold rings on her paw, and a bright halo adorning the top of her head. Her large brown eyes stared down at the dark, snowy Earth, tinged with a bit of regret.

"Everything okay?" a deep, serious yet gentle female voice asked. Turning, a dark grey wolf with a thick bushy tail and a curvy appearance approached. She also had a pair of wings, some gold rings, and a bright halo that looked very much like the white dog's, only bigger to fit her larger body.

"Uh-huh," the white dog said sadly in a soft, high-pitched voice. "Only… I don't think now's the right time for this."

"Why not?"

"We'd only be bringing in confusion and heartache… I don't know, isn't there any way to stop it?"

"It's too late, and there's only so much we can do. They're just going to have to solve whatever complications come out of this themselves."

And the wolf disappeared into the clouds, leaving the white dog alone on the cloud, with a few tears from her eyes falling into the dark earthly skies.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi everyone! Sorry about the longer wait: it was my exam season, and I had no time to write anything except essays... Anyway, I'm happy to say though** **that I'm done with my exams now and can get back to writing. Thanks to Evil-Copper and XLR8 the Fox for their reviews, favorites, and follows, and thanks to everyone for making it this far in the story. XL, CiCi, and Leo belong to XLR8 the Fox, as does one of the OCs that appeared in the last chapter. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their universes belong to Disney.**

Ch. 12 – Lucky Turmoil

"Ugh… Rolly, please stop it!" Penny grunted, waking up once again to an uncomfortable kicking in her back.

The much larger Dalmatian puppy however, was snoring loudly as he continued to lie flat upon his back, with his eyes shut and kicking his foot up and down as he grunted in his sleep. Sighing, Penny shook her head. Trying to get a sleeping Rolly to sleep calmly was like trying to tell an awake Rolly to stop eating. Looking around her through the candlelight remaining, she saw that everyone else was still asleep. It was impossible to tell what time it really was with the kitchen window being blocked off with the cushion and the others covered with a coating of snow, but she figured it must be early morning, since she felt like she got enough sleep to not want to go back to bed, yet at the same, she did not feel like she slept in either.

Sighing as she lay down, she knew she would just have to wait for the others to get up, and began to daydream about life back in her own house. Back where she could see her mom, dad, brothers and sisters without being dependent on candlelight, with a heating system that worked like normal, with Roger, Anita, and Nanny happily there to share holidays with them. She could hardly believe that at this time yesterday, she was actually starting the day off just like any other with Roger, Anita and Nanny. As she looked around though, she smiled, for she was reminded at least her canine family, both direct and extended, all slept peacefully around her. Watching them sweetly, she could hear the sounds of snoring, shuffling in bed, and sleeptalking coming from different parts of the room.

Remembering what life was like when she was locked in with Cruella and how helpless and terrified she felt, Penny felt grateful that she was not in that position again. As she looked around, she couldn't help smiling at her large extended family. Even though they were a group of twenty-one, it still felt deeply intimate, as there were always friendly faces and voices who would lend their paws in an instant to help each other out. "Thank you everybody," Penny whispered aloud, smiling softly at the others. Sighing appreciatively, she slowly laid her head on her paw and began to lie down and rest her eyes. However, just as she did so, she heard something else. Some kind of scratching sound.

She stood up, her heart racing, and immediately tensed up, remembering that they had just been attacked by burglars. Could this be the Siamese cats again? Grabbing a candle and hurrying over, she ran over to the broken window, only to find the cushion guarding it still standing firmly in place. "Cats?" Penny said to the window. "I'm not going to let you hurt our family again, okay?" No response came, other than the slight windy breeze from outside. Cautiously walking away, she couldn't figure how the Siamese cats could get in, yet all the same, she heard something…

The clock rang six times. Looking around cautiously, she then heard another scratching sound, seeming to be much closer. Whipping around, Penny rushed forward, looking to see what could possibly be making that noise. Upon reaching her cushion though, she saw that a familiar white paw was scraping the ground, and looking up, Penny drew a huge sigh of relief as she saw that it only was Patch, moving slowly, his just beginning to open up.

"Morning Penny," Patch asked groggily, stretching out and walking off the dog bed. Looking at Rolly, smacking his lips and kicking, he asked, "Did Rolly wake you up early again?"

Penny nodded, but Patch could see something was wrong with his sister and closest friend. Her eyes looked highly alert and her paws were visibly tensed up. "What's wrong?" he asked concernedly.

"Nothing…. I just heard some kind of scratching sound," Penny explained. "But it was just you scratching the floor in your sleep."

"Yeah… I guess I do kinda do that," Patch said a little embarrassedly. However, just as he said this, the scratching sound occurred again. This time however, it seemed further out, like the first scratch did.

"Did you hear that?" Penny asked, tensing up again, looking at Patch.

Nodding, Patch nervously said, "That wasn't me."

Penny sighed. "This sounds exactly like the other one I heard."

"Know where it could be?" Patch asked.

"I don't know," Penny answered slowly.

"Well, you know what Thunder would do," Patch said excitedly, wagging his tail. "Ever since Episode 1?"

"Check it out," Penny nodded. "It's probably a good idea to leave this room anyway, since the others are still sleeping."

So quietly, Penny lit a candle for Patch, and the two puppies silently walked out of the kitchen and down the carpeted hallway. It had only been a day since they had been here, but they were already getting the feel of the fancy, Victorian house and became increasingly adept at navigating through it. As they got further and further away from the kitchen, the sounds of the scratching grew more and more fervent and clear. Looking at each other darkly, Patch and Penny nodded as they proceeded forward, following the sound of anxious scratching. Walking on and on while keeping their ears alert for the scratching sounds, Patch and Penny then found themselves in front of the basement door, where they saw to their shock that the tall, wooden door leading to the basement was actually vibrating a little back and forth.

"You think we should check it out?" Patch asked Penny, who bit her lip. "I don't know… what if it's those Siamese cats?"

"Excuse me," came a soft, high pitched voice with a very peculiar accent. "But what exactly is a Siamese cat?"

Patch and Penny looked at each other alertly before Patch said, "Who's there?"

Before they could respond though, Patch and Penny saw more light, and coming down the hallway, each with a candle in mouth, were Rolly, Cadpig, Lucky, and Two-Tone. "You guys sure got up early," Rolly said, yawning.

"Yeah, what's going on, and why didn't you tell us?" Lucky asked.

Then suddenly, the voice behind the door asked, "Lucky! Is that you!"

Lucky looked confusedly at the others. "Well, I am Lucky…. But there are loads of other Luckys."

"No, no. I know you are the Lucky I know and love," the voice said again. "A spotted puppy, one with a red collar, dark ears, and some cute, horseshoe-shaped spots."

Bewilderedly, Lucky walked back, confusedly, amazed with how well she had described him. Hesitatingly, Patch said, "I think we should let her in."

"Wait!" Two-Tone gasped, her face flushed, looking at Lucky wide-eyed, and her tail bristling furiously. "For all we know, she could be dangerous!"

"I'm not dangerous, I promise ye!" the voice replied back.

"She doesn't seem dangerous to me," Penny said, so at that moment, Patch stood on the floor as she stood on top of Patch and Cadpig stood on top of both of them, opening the door. The door creaked open ajar, and out walked a small Dalmatian puppy, with bright blue eyes, a pink, frilly collar, and fascinating heart shaped spots.

"Whoa," Lucky said as he looked at her. "I've never seen anyone quite like you before…"

"Oh come on Lucky," she said. "We know each other! You told me to come home from DeVil Ville…"

"What?" Lucky asked, thoroughly befuddled, looking at his brothers and sisters, all looked thoroughly confused.

"What are you talking about?" Two-Tone asked, approaching the smaller puppy suspiciously.

"DeVil Ville!" the puppy cried, looking confused, before saying softly, "You really don't remember any of it, do you?" Seeing Lucky shake his head, she said, "You don't even remember my name?"

"Uh…" Lucky said nervously, hoping upon hope to get it right. "Err…. It's Molly, right?"

At once, the little puppy howled and began to cry. "No…..My name is Rebecca! Isn't that name familiar with any of you?'

"Uh, no," Two-Tone said irritably. "You've got the wrong Lucky."

"No no, positive," Rebecca said, her voice getting desperate. "I know you though. You are Lucky, and you are Rolly, and you are Cadpig."

Everyone looked at each other in shock. It was one thing to somehow guess Rolly's name, but knowing Cadpig's name certainly wasn't any coincidence. "I do not know who you three are though," Rebecca said confusedly. "You must be Lucky's brothers and sisters."

"Well, almost," Two-Tone said straightforwardly. "I'm his adopted sister, Two-Tone."

"Really? Lucky never mentioned anything about a Two-Tone," Rebecca said, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, just letting you know, I'm his girlfriend," Two-Tone said warningly.

The other puppies looked at Two-Tone in surprise, before Rebecca shook her head. "No, that cannot be right. The Lucky I know is not meeting another lass."

"What are you talking about?" Lucky said confusedly. "We've never even met."

Rebecca sighed sadly, closing her eyes, before saying, "One day, you visited my village, DeVil Ville. You, Roger, Anita, Cadpig, Rolly, and Spot." The puppies looked at each other in even more shock. Now apart from knowing the names of three of the puppies, this Rebecca also seemed to know their pets and even the chicken who hung around them for a while. Wanting to test her, Cadpig said, "And Spot is a…."

"Chicken," Rebecca answered without a second thought as the other puppies looked at each other in shock. Rebecca said, "We met under a trance, but then we worked together to save your pets from being locked up…"

"Why would Roger and Anita go to jail?" Two-Tone asked skeptically.

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense," Rolly agreed. "Our pets never break the law… how come…"

"Never mind that!" Rebecca cried out, before saying, "We stood at the gates of DeVil Ville when you left. You asked me to come, but I couldn't, not at that point. But the moment you left, my heart felt a pang … I knew I was missing something. I helped me kin get out of their trance by finding another chicken to kiss them…"

Two-Tone smirked. "Kissing chickens? Right…. Go on then."

"Anyways," Rebecca said coldly before continuing, "Me parents promised that they could care of the DeVils themselves after seeing how heartsick I felt. But I felt that all was helpless… until I met Shala the Time Wolf and Belinda Incantata her assistant..."

"Who are they?" Patch asked, confused.

"Oh, time keepers," Rebecca answered simply. "They sent me through time."

At this point, Two-Tone began to snicker. "And we're really supposed to believe this?"

"Yeah, I don't get it," Rolly said. "I need some steak to digest this with."

"This is what happened!" Rebecca shouted, her voice high-pitched. "They sent me through time, and I woke up in the basement this morning…. Here, where Lucky was."

"Well, Lucky's not believing in any of this nonsense, is he?" Two-Tone asked Lucky with a smirk.

"Er…" Lucky began nervously.

"Of course, Lucky must believe!" Rebecca countered. "I traveled through time just to be with my little Lucky darling…"

"Lucky, you can't really believe her, can you?" Two-Tone asked.

"Oh Lucky, you must believe me! You mustn't let that uncouth lass get to you." Rebecca begged.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Two-Tone said, outraged.

"I should say it plainer," Rebecca replied tartly, "That a nice, young lad like Lucky shouldn't be listening to the words of a rotund, skrechin' eedjit."

"That's it," Two-Tone snarled, and she turned to Lucky. "Lucky, just say it! You're the only one who could send her packing, so just say it!"

"No!" Rebecca said. "I've come all this way just to see you!"

Lucky looked bleakly at both girls, both wearing incredibly determined, serious expressions, before saying, "I can't say either one…"

Two-Tone then said, "You filthy little interloper!"

"You wretched, big bully!" Rebecca snarled back, and before anyone else could know it, the two puppies launched themselves at each other, and before anyone could say another word, they started kicking, scratching and biting at each other.

"Please, stop!" Lucky cried out desperately.

"This is not conducive to peace!" Cadpig wailed. "Think girls, harmony! Sunshine! Rainbows! Peace!"

"I thought I would love to stay with your family," Rebecca said sadly. "But alas, there happens to be one bad apple in every family."

"Say that again!" Two-Tone said.

"Seriously, guys, stop!" Patch cried out.

"Yes, please!" Penny said desperately.

Just then however, Pongo and Perdita arrived on the scene, along with Lady and Tramp's family, Leo, XL, and CiCi. All of whom looked anxious and concerned. "What is going on here?" Pongo asked seriously, looking at the two girls, engaged in paw to paw combat as they continued batting and biting at each other.

At once, they broke away from the fight, and breathing heavily, pointed at the other and said, "She started it!"

Leo then shook his head. "And they say cat fights are bad…"


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi, welcome back! Again, thanks to Evil-Copper and XLR8 the Fox for their favorites, follows and reviews, and thank you to all my other readers for continuing to read the story.**

Chapter 13 - Resolving Problems

For a moment, no one was entirely sure what to think as the two puppies lowered their paws. As they did, the others noticed how intensely they were still glaring at each other, with pure venom in their eyes. The silence was abruptly broken when Scamp crept forward and asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh my goodness, I owe you my dearest apologies," Rebecca bowed, curtsying. "My name is…."

But before she could complete her sentence, Danielle suddenly rushed forward. To everyone's shock, she took a big leap and landed right on top of Rebecca, tackling her to the ground. Alarmed, Rebecca's eyes widened in horror as she stared up at Danielle, who snarled at her intimidatingly while pinning her to the ground.

"What …." Rebecca began, alarmed as Danielle placed a paw on her neck as everyone else gasped in shock and terror.

Danielle however, completely ignored this as she stared at Rebecca seriously. "You're not gonna hurt Puffball, understand?" she demanded warningly. The others whipped around to look at Puffball, and noticed in shock that his were wide and dilated, his stance was very tense, and they could almost hear his heart beating rapidly.

"Huh? I don't know who Puffball even is!" Rebecca cried out, looking up at Danielle desperately. "I don't know who most of you are! I don't even know where I am or how I got here! Really ... Help!"

Danielle's eyes widened upon hearing this and seeing Rebecca look so alarmed. After glancing at the others, she hesitantly took her paws off Rebecca and slowly shuffled back. "Sorry 'bout that," she muttered sheepishly, not looking at Rebecca. She walked over to Puffball and exchanged glances with him, and noticed that his eyes were still filled with a look of extreme horror. Seeing that the others had begun to look at him as well, Puffball shuffled uncomfortably before moving forward and stuttering, "Y… You …You didn't steal the ch…china, did you?"

"What china?" Rebecca asked blankly.

"She didn't," a voice replied softly. Turning, everyone gasped as they saw that Annette was slowly walking over to them. At once, the atmosphere in the room suddenly began to brighten up as a chorus of happy barks and cheers rang out. Excitedly, Lady ran over to her daughter, gave her a big hug and delightedly cried out, "Annette! You're feeling better?"

"Yeah," Annette explained, smiling at her mother.

"I'm so glad," Lady sighed in relief as the others smiled, very happy with Annette's recovery. As Lady and Annette walked over to the others, everyone's attention slowly began to fixate back on Rebecca again, who despite still being mysterious, somehow looked a bit less threatening now. Looking at Rebecca and noticing how bewildered and scared she looked, Annette said, "Don't worry, she had nothing to do with it. It was the Siamese cats and the Siamese cats alone. I didn't see any dog helping them out."

The others' expressions slowly began to warm toward Rebecca, even Danielle's, though Two-Tone and Puffball still had their eyes raised hostilely. Perdita looked gently down at Rebecca, before saying, "We really do apologize for our unwelcoming behavior, miss. I think we really ought to be properly introduced," Perdita said warmly.

"But she's bad!" Two-Tone shouted abruptly, who had been remarkably quiet up until this point.

Pongo however, shook his head. "Two-Tone, we really ought to give this young lady the chance to explain herself and what's going on."

Spunky nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if you weren't involved with those cats, how did you get in? All the windows and doors were jammed tight. You must be some crafty streetdog to get through all that."

"Streetdog? What's a streetdog?" Rebecca asked confusedly.

The others looked at Rebecca in concern, though notably Danielle relaxed her shoulders a bit. Tentatively, Lady approached Rebecca and asked, "Are you all right, miss?"

"I'm fine," Rebecca said frustratedly. "There's just so much I don't understand..."

"Well, maybe if you explain what you know, we can work together to get an understanding of what has happened," Pongo suggested gently.

"I will explain all I can, but there's so much I do not understand myself," Rebecca said solemnly. Curtsying, she said, "My name is Rebecca, and I really don't mean any harm..."

"Yeah right," Two-Tone muttered.

Glaring at Two-Tone, Rebecca continued, "I came here in order to see meet my dear friend Lucky again… He was my first true friend I ever met..."

At once, the others turned and stared at Lucky, who under the eyes of all the others, looked just as ill at ease as he was when he first saw Rebecca. "Lucky, how come you never talked to us about her?" Pongo asked, intrigued.

"Dad, I don't think I know who she is," Lucky said sadly, trying to sound as gentle as possible so as to avoid hurting Rebecca's feelings.

"Nor should he," Rebecca continued, sighing and shaking her head.

"Here comes the nonsense," Two-Tone grunted.

Giving Two-Tone another dirty glare, Rebecca said, "One time, Lucky, Rolly, and Cadpig came to my town with Roger, Anita, and their chicken friend, Spot.."

"She actually already knew our names," Cadpig added as Lucky and Rolly nodded. "And Roger's, Anita's, and Spot's."

"Yes," Rebecca continued. "They all visited my town of DeVil Ville…"

At once, everybody flinched with that word and a low, ominous chatter began to break out. Confusedly, Rebecca looked around as Rolly's jaw dropped, Puffball's eyebrows rose, and Two-Tone beamed maliciously. "Aha! So she confessed! She's a spy!"

Rebecca glared at Two-Tone before lifting up her head and saying, "Will somebody please remove this terribly rude lass from this house?"

Sensing trouble, CiCi rushed over to Two-Tone and said, "Hey, Two-Tone, somebody's got to take care of the baby…. Let's do it together, okay?"

Two-Tone sighed, but as frustrated as she was with Rebecca, she really didn't want to get into a fight. Sighing, she reluctantly said, "Okay, fine."

With that, CiCi and Two-Tone walked up the stairs as CiCi tried to make small talk with her, to which Two-Tone was not very receptive. Once Two-Tone was out of sight, Pongo asked, "So what is this about DeVil Ville?"

"Oh," Rebecca said. "DeVil Ville is my hometown. It is a town from a time long before that of your world, run by the ancestors of your DeVil. For the longest time, I and all of the other inhabitants of DeVil Ville were under a curse to always remain in a trance to think that DeVil Ville was the most wonderful place ever…. That is when I met Lucky, and he and the others fell under the curse too. The curse could only be broken in one way, by the kiss of a chicken. So Spot came in and kissed all of you as well as myself. Upon being freed from the curse, I realized how problematic DeVil Ville really was, and to my horror, I also realized that Lucky and the others were about to be trapped in my world forever. So I helped Lucky and his friends and your pets get out of there. We freed Roger and Anita from behind bars, as they were jailed up. Then I showed everyone the way to the exit gate, which was about to be enveloped in smoke. Before he left, Lucky asked me to come over to your world. I really wanted to, but I had to decline, knowing that I had to stay behind to take care of my townsfolk. So I stayed as Lucky and the others escaped. However, as they left, I realized that under the town's magic, they would have their memories wiped once my town disappeared for good... I thought I would never see Lucky or the others ever again ... But then last night, I met two gatekeepers of time in my dreams. Their names were Shala the Time Wolf, a gray wolf, and Belinda Incantata, a white dog. They asked me what I would like, and I told them I would just like a chance to see Lucky again. Then everything went dark and the next thing I know, I wake up in your basement. I know it sounds silly, but that is what happened."

The others looked at each other, at a loss for words. Clearly, this puppy seemed delusional and downright mad, yet all the same, she was surprisingly articulate and coherent. Pongo and Perdita gave each other pitiful looks as they looked at the young puppy. Clearing her throat, Rebecca lowered her head sorrowfully and muttered, "I understand that none of you know who I am. That is fine, I can leave…"

"Leave how?" Perdita asked indignantly. "There is no way to get out, we are completely snowed in!"

"I can just go outside..." Rebecca mumbled.

"And be caught in a winter storm?" Perdita asked incredulously. "It is far too cold outside for anybody, you really should remain inside."

"Perdy's right," Lady agreed. "You really ought to stay with us, at least until it's not so cold outside," to various nods and murmurs in agreement. However, Pongo and Perdita then whispered to each other briefly. For a moment, they both looked at each other tensely. They nodded and both looked to be about to say something to Rebecca, but to everybody's surprise, Lucky stepped forward and walked over to Rebecca. His expression conveyed that of both seriousness and kindness at the same time. "Hey Rebecca, you understand that Two-Tone and I care about each other, right?"

"Yes, but I..." Rebecca began.

"Well, could you not say you want to kick her out of the house again?" Lucky asked seriously.

Rebecca sighed, "Fine, I promise, for your sake, Lucky."

"Thanks," Lucky smiled. "And ... Maybe I can get to know you better too, hey, who knows, maybe I'll get my memories back by spending time with you."

Rebecca smiled at Lucky and said, "Thanks Lucky."

Pongo and Perdita looked at each other. Not only did Lucky say the one thing they were about to ask, but at the same time, they admired his immense loyalty to what appeared to be his new girlfriend. Pongo smiled and then said, "Well, you are welcome to stay here Rebecca for as long as you wish."

Rebecca bowed down and said, "Thank you very much."

Slowly, a light chatter began to emerge in the room and the crowd began to break apart. Hurriedly, Pongo and Perdita gave a hurried nod to each other, and then gave a meaningful look to the other parents. Getting the message, the six parents, each grabbing a candle in mouth, walked carefully out of the kitchen.

"What is it?" Peg asked.

"Let's talk, upstairs," Pongo whispered.

"Okay, let's use Jim Dear and Darling's room," Tramp suggested, and together, they walked up the stairs. As they reached the upstairs, their pace quickened until they got to the door of Jim Dear and Darling's bedroom. Tramp reached up and twisted opened the door, and then bounded onto the bed. The others followed, and upon getting it, softly closed the door. Together, they softly plopped down on the bed, huddled together and each enjoying the warmth coming from five other furry bodies. As she lay down on the familiar, comforting, nostalgic blanket, Lady couldn't help but to think about all the days she spent with Jim Dear and Darling on that blanket when she was a little puppy…

"I miss Jim Dear and Darling so much," Lady sighed worriedly, looking out the window. "I don't understand… Where could they have gone?"

"Hey, easy Pidge, I'm sure they're okay," Tramp said. "Who knows? Maybe they went to the concert with Roger and Anita."

"But how could they have gone if they haven't even packed?" Lady asked.

"Maybe they wouldn't need much," Pongo suggested. "Don't worry Lady, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Well, I hope you're right," Lady sighed sadly. "They're truly great pets to have."

"Yeah, they sure seem to be kind souls," Peg added in agreement.

With a few more moments of silence, Pongo then said, "Poor Lucky…I can't imagine what he's going through right now."

"And I can't imagine what is going on through Rebecca's head," Perdita said sadly. "Poor little girl… She must be seriously mentally disturbed to have all those delusions like that…."

"Yet she sounds so normal," Spunky pointed out. "She's not like the usual crazy dog. Peg and I have seen plenty of loonies in the pound, and they always seemed… well, out of it."

"Yeah, you try talking to them and it's like they don't even know you're there. Or they just bark out nonsense, get extremely hyper or agitated, start chewing their fur off, bite themselves, or just not seem aware of anything," Peg added sadly. "Not like Rebecca one bit."

"What really got me was how much she knew about Lucky," Pongo said, confused, shaking his head. "I mean, I know we're famous, but she doesn't seem to know anything else out about ... well, as she would say, our world. But somehow, she knew Cadpig and Rolly's names, about Spot the chicken, and the names of our pets… Something is going on with her."

"I know, she seems so earnest in what she's saying, it's almost as though what she's saying is really true!" Perdita gasped, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I get that sense too," Spunky said before sighing, "It's just such a mess…"

"And I feel really sorry for Two-Tone too," Perdita continued. "We've known for ages now that she's liked Lucky. She probably came here just to be with Lucky again. After all, Roger and Anita said she was not feeling good before getting here. That must be what this fight was about. She probably felt insecure and got jealous of Rebecca really fast. It must have been really hard for her to confess her feelings for Lucky. "

"It was probably just as hard for Lucky," Pongo pointed out. "Way back when we were at the farm, Two-Tone started hanging around with this bully named Mooch. I could tell Lucky really didn't like that, but it was hard for him to get to her with Mooch in his way all the time. He was probably waiting for the chance to talk to Two-Tone just as much as she did."

"So you don't think Rebecca changes anything?" Spunky asked.

Pongo and Perdita shook their heads. "Lucky and Two-Tone have been interested in each other way too long," Pongo answered firmly. "What he said to Rebecca really proves that. I really can't see how a randomly appearing girl is going to break them apart."

Then, Pongo and Perdita looked at each other, and then at Spunky, and coming to an understanding, the three of them all smirked. Lady, Tramp, and Peg looked at them blankly.

"What are you thinking about?" Lady asked.

"Well," Spunky said, with a slight smirk to his voice and brightly lit eyes, "Once upon a time, after saving a whole crew of trapped streetdogs and a long chase that took hours and hours and went on for endless miles, a great streetdog was finally captured by the dogcatcher."

Peg rolled her eyes as Spunky continued, "He put up quite a fight, straining with all his might and delivering the dogcatcher bite after bite, but eventually, he was sentenced to the confines of the dog pound. He could've gotten out really fast of course, but then he met a lovely lady in his cell… Sad, heartbroken, bitter, angry, even a bit spiteful at times, but underneath it all, lay a pure heart of gold that just needed to be loved."

Peg looked at Spunky skeptically. "What does this story about … us… have to do with anything?"

Spunky looked at Peg confidently. "Isn't it obvious? You're the perfect person for Rebecca to speak with."

"Me?" Peg said confusedly, as Pongo and Perdita nodded. "Remember how you still had a crush on Tramp when we all thought Spunky was dead?" Pongo asked.

"Yes," Peg muttered, blushing embarrassedly and covering her face up with her long, bushy tail. "But I still don't understand…"

"Well, let's see," Spunky said teasingly, "A girl who just found out that her crush's heart belonged to someone else. You had the hots for Tramp for days, Peg," Spunky reminded her. "It took a long time for you to get over him, even with my natural charm and good looks, but hey, eventually you did, and you've learned enough to help counsel Rebecca."

Perdita nodded earnestly and turned to Lady. "And Lady, I think you should talk to Two-Tone."

"But shouldn't you?" Lady asked nervously. "You are her mother, and you know her better than I do."

"As much as I hate to say it, the words of her mother will not really resolve her needs right now," Perdita explained. "What she really needs is a mentor figure…. Someone who was deeply and happily in love with the boy of her dreams, only to find that another girl comes in, threatening to upend the relationship that she worked so hard to make work and matters to her more than anyone else."

Lady nodded in understanding, before asking, "But what if she doesn't listen to me?"

"She might not fully listen to anyone right now," Perdita conceded, "But if anyone can help advise her, it would be you, for you really understand the kind of pain she's going through now."

Hesitatingly, Lady nodded, before everyone turned their eyes on Tramp. Clearing his throat, Tramp ventured, "So I guess I'm gonna be talking to Lucky, right?"

"Yes," Pongo answered. "You understand what it's like to have another girl interested in you, have the girl you truly love get suspicious, and want to repair your relationship and reassure your lover while wanting to be as nice yet firm to the other girl as possible. You probably know about this better than everyone, so you'd be great to help Lucky out with this."

"Alright then," Tramp said agreeably. "We've just got to be careful in how we handle this. We can't get them thinking we've planned all this."

The others agreed before getting off Jim Dear and Darling's bed and heading back downstairs.

Meanwhile, the puppies were trying their best to keep things under control with Rebecca and Two-Tone. CiCi and Two-Tone returned shortly after the parents went to talk upstairs. Upon the first glance at Two-Tone, Lucky's heart began to race. He then noticed a long rope on the floor.

"Who wants to play tug a war?" Lucky hurriedly asked, excitedly picking up the rope.

"Count me in!" Scamp exclaimed at once, wagging his tail excitedly.

"Me too!" Patch said excitedly.

"And me!" XL also said, his eyes lit up.

So the four of them hurriedly began to pull at the rope, and by the time Two-Tone actually got to the kitchen, they were playing in earnest, caught in a fervent and heated series of tug of war matches, switching off teams and places after a few rounds. Off to the side of the game lay Leo, idly watching them play their silly game as he yawned, placed his head on his paw like a pillow and took an extended catnap. Puffball was also there, looking deep in thought and frowning about something as he just sat and seemed to stare off into space, taking occasional glares at Rebecca before returning to his unseeing stare. Rebecca sat there too, looking hurt and worried, thinking about all that happened since her arrival. It was one thing for Two-Tone to hate her and another for no one to know who she was, but feeling aches from Danielle's attack and seeing Puffball's suspicious glances at her continually put Rebecca on edge. Lastly sat Rolly, who unlike Rebecca and Puffball, had not a care in the world as he sat on the floor with a cookbook, decorated with pictures of dishes from page to page, licking his lips as he saw each entrée, nearly all of which boasted a considerable amount of calories.

As Two-Tone proceeded nearer, her expression listless, she saw that Penny and Cadpig were hurriedly whispering to each other. Penny then nudged Cadpig and the two sisters immediately turned to smile at their foster sister.

"Morning sis!" Cadpig exclaimed. trying to smile as convincingly as she could under the circumstances.

"Morning," Two-Tone muttered grumpily as CiCi walked over to watch the tug of war game.

"Cheer up," Cadpig smiled, trying to sound as bright as possible.

"How can I? With HER in the house?" Two-Tone sighed, glaring at Rebecca.

"Hey, Lucky still likes you," Cadpig told her. "He's always talking about you."

"Before or after her?" Two-Tone growled. Cadpig sighed, before saying, "You've got to try some positive self-talk, to help boost up your esteem a bit! Okay?"

Two-Tone reluctantly nodded, and aimlessly, she followed Cadpig over to the dining room.

Little did Two-Tone know however that at that very same moment, Penny approached Rebecca. "Hi Rebecca," Penny greeted her, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Rebecca turned and sighed, "Oh hi, uh…."

"Penny," Penny introduced herself.

"Right," Rebecca said dourly. "Sorry I forgot your name…"

"That's fine, actually there's no way you'd know my name, since we've never really met," Penny said warmly.

"Oh…." Rebecca said. "Not that you should meet me. I'm only causing trouble..."

"You're not causing trouble," Penny pointed out. "Just… You and Two-Tone just got off to a rough start...And I'm sure Danielle didn't mean to hurt you."

"I should never have asked to come," Rebecca sighed.

"There, there," Penny told her warmly, and together, the two puppies walked off to the living room.

This only left Angel, Annette, Danielle, and Collette remaining. "Come on girls," Angel said determinedly. "Let's go upstairs."

And firmly, Angel took the lead, while Annette, Danielle and Collette, followed happily. Although she was technically their future sister-in-law, the triplets had come to see Angel more and more as an actual sister, especially after Danielle too had found her love. Just the four of them being together made them all feel oddly happy. Hurriedly, Angel led the others up the stairs and darted to the upstairs storage room, which though littered with boxes, had lots of empty space inside. Once inside, Annette shut the door, and she, Angel and Collette then all proceeded to look seriously at Danielle, who looked bewildered.

"Huh?" Danielle asked, looking at each of them in turn.

"Why did you do that?" Collette asked.

"Wha?" Danielle asked, still confused.

"Attack Rebecca," Angel explained.

"Oh..." Danielle said. "It was a misunderstanding. I was just trying to protect Puffball..."

"From what?" Collette asked incredulously.

"I can't say," Danielle said, shaking her head.

Annette, Collette, and Angel looked at each other seriously. "Are you hiding something from us, sis?" Annette asked.

"Huh? Er ... Ugh ..." Danielle began, before gulping.

"Is this a secret between you and Puffball?" Angel asked thoughtfully.

Slowly, Danielle nodded before shouting, extremely agitated, "I can't say anything more than that! He really doesn't want it to get out."

"I understand," Angel said kindly, proceeding to give her foster sister a soft hug. "Scamp and I have our secrets too."

Collette and Annette then joined in the hug as well, and before they knew it, the four sisters then began to hug each other, each giggling as they pet each others' soft fur and stroked their just as soft ears.

"Isn't this great? The four of us girls in here all by ourselves, no boys and no parents," Annette exclaimed as she styled Angel's tuft.

"You know, I was just thinking that," Angel smiled. "While the boys are playing their game and our moms and dads are still talking, we might have some fun ourselves, and bring Rebecca and Two-Tone in as well."

"Great idea!" Collette agreed, wagging her tail excitedly. "That'd be a great way to get them to get along better with each other, you know, when they're not thinking about boys! They'll just see each other without Lucky around, and they'll see Angel and Danielle having fun without their boyfriends…"

"And you," Danielle pointed out.

"Huh?" Collette asked.

"XL, of course," Danielle snickered.

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just a kid!" Collette cried out indignantly.

"Then why do you let him play with your ears? And why do you let him sleep with you at night?" Danielle challenged daringly.

"Girls, stop fighting!" Annette explained. "This is exactly what we need to give Rebecca and Two-Tone a break from, fighting about boys."

Collette and Danielle nodded understandingly, before Angel jumped on one of the piles of boxes. "Come on, let's go looking for some stuff," she smirked. Digging through her first box, Angel quickly found a pair of hot pink shades. Smirking as she slipped them on, Angel said, "Maybe I should go and show these off to Tenderfoot!"

Annette and Collette burst into laughter as Danielle asked, "Tenderfoot?"

"She means Scamp," Annette whispered, and Danielle then started laughing too. Happily, their hearts incredibly excited and light, the four puppies tore into the storage boxes, foraging for all the goodies they could find.

Downstairs, the tug a war game continued in earnest. This time, Scamp and Patch were teamed against Lucky and XL, and both sides were growling loudly as they continued to tug the rope with all of their might.

"You're not gonna get it this time Scamp!" Lucky grunted as he gave a big heave.

"Oh yeah?" Scamp asked daringly as he yanked the rope.

"Mine!" Patch shouted as he gave a tug.

"No, mine!" XL shouted back.

Together, the four of them continued growling at each other and the rope, trying desperately to stand their ground as the other side tried pulling and pushing each other.

Leo just shook his head and sighed, though he felt really happy for XL, finally able to play with others just his age. Rolly, meanwhile was still smacking his lips, cruising through more hearty entrees in the cookbook, while CiCi was providing a running commentary in the background. "Lucky pulls! No, Scamp pulls! XL pulls even harder! And here comes Patch with another yank …. Who knows where this rope would end up going next? It's a real photo finish here, guys! Keep up the great…."

"Shut up!" a voice shouted. "And stop with this silly game!" Turning in shock, the others saw that Puffball stood up, his mouth in a very angry expression and his eyebrows narrowed.

"Hey Puffball, we're just having fun," Scamp told him confusedly, taken aback with Puffball's sudden outburst.

"Wanna join?" Patch said. "Lucky and XL could really use some help," he teased as Lucky gave him a daring glare.

"How can you guys even think about playing when we're housing a murderer?" Puffball shouted angrily.

"Murderer? What are you talking about?" Patch asked confusedly.

"This Rebecca girl, funny background she has, doesn't she?" Puffball asked angrily. "Sounds like she's trying to hide something from us…. Don't say I didn't warn you when…"

But at that moment, Puffball was interrupted, for returning from the living room was Rebecca, with a visible look of hurt on her face, as Penny accompanied her, looking at Puffball in disbelief.

Puffball, immediately realizing what she must have heard, recoiled a bit as Rebecca glared at him.

"I should expect as much," Rebecca said coldly. "That I'd be conspired against and mistreated, with the welcome I've received so far. I can clearly see when I am not wanted. I want to go home…"

"There there Rebecca, you'll be okay," Penny said, still looking at Puffball in utter shock.

The others looked at Puffball expectantly, but he said, "What? What if she's one of them?"

"One of whom?" Scamp asked fearfully.

"One of…." Puffball began, but then shook his head and sighed.

"I've heard enough," Rebecca coldly growled and she walked away.

At once, Lucky rounded on Puffball. "Why did you say that?"

"There's lots of things you'd only learn from being a streetdog," Puffball shot back. "You can never be too careful. Maybe I reacted too strongly, but..."

"That's for sure," Lucky interrupted angrily. "You hurt Rebecca's feelings. Now apologize to Rebecca or…."

"Apologize to her?" came another voice as Two-Tone appeared around the corner, her mouth very narrow and her body shaking with rage. "I should've known. You only care about her and not me…"

"Huh? Two-Tone, I didn't …" Lucky began, but Two-Tone interrupted, snarling, "I'm sick of having my heart broken, Lucky! You might as well just tell me you love her so you can get the pain over with."

"Huh?" Lucky asked, but Two-Tone stormed off, with Cadpig hurrying beside her, frantically trying to cheer her up. Silence enveloped them before XL nervously asked, "Well? Wanna start playing again?"

Reluctantly, Lucky, Patch and Scamp agreed, and so the game began again, but only this time they couldn't help but to look at Puffball more often, who they couldn't help but notice that apart from looking angry, looked very, very frightened.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi, welcome back for another chapter! I'm putting this chapter before I go out of town for a while. I'm also revising my outline for the story, so I may be a bit delayed in putting up Chapter 15 FYI. Thank you to XLR8 the Fox for several plot ideas, and XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for favoriting, following, and reviewing, as well as others for favoriting and following. Please favorite, follow, and review if you wish!**

Chapter 14: Puppy Angst

As the tug of war game resumed, CiCi soon began to notice how tense everyone looked. While Scamp, Lucky, Patch and XL continued to pull at the rope, none of them were really focusing on the same attention they were before. Puffball stood in his corner defiantly, glaring at the wall intensely as nearby in the living room, everyone could hear Rebecca crying and Penny's feeble attempts to calm her down. Even Rolly was affected, for he lifted his head up from the cookbook and looked around the room several times tensely.

"You guys really don't feel good," Rolly said tensely.

To his amazement, no one chose to respond, except for CiCi, who walked over to him. "No, we sure don't," she whispered.

"When are things gonna get better?" Rolly asked. "I don't like it when everyone's so upset."

"Hopefully soon," CiCi told Rolly. "Why don't you look at the carp…"

"Carp!" Rolly exclaimed, and before CiCi knew it, Rolly was digging through the book to find the carp entrees. CiCi smiled, wishing everybody could get in a good mood as easily as Rolly could. Looking at Puffball and noticing his still furious gaze, she walked over to him anxiously.

"Come to yell at me, I suppose?" Puffball asked bitterly.

CiCi sighed. "Why did you do that?"

"I don't trust her," Puffball growled.

"Why not?" CiCi asked.

"Never mind," Puffball sighed.

"Puffball, please… I just want to understand. Why? Can't you just be a bit nicer to Rebecca?" CiCi pleaded.

Puffball sighed, "And just wait for her to kill us?"

"She doesn't seem like a murderer to me," CiCi said. "Why…."

"I can't explain!" Puffball shouted and tore off, leaving CiCi looking at him sadly.

Meanwhile in the dining room, Two-Tone was sulking in a corner, with Cadpig accompanying her, trying her hardest to reassure her. "Aww, don't worry Two-Tone, I'm sure Lucky likes you!"

"Until she came," Two-Tone groaned.

"You just need to chin up and feel better!" Cadpig answered optimistically. "There's nothing a positive attitude can't fix."

Two-Tone sighed, shaking her head. She knew Cadpig meant well, but her sister had no idea what she was going through. Shaking her head despondently, Two-Tone said, "Thanks for trying to help me out, Cadpig…"

But before Cadpig could answer, both of the dining room's doors opened. On one side entered Lady, who looked carefully around the room, and upon glancing the two puppies, purposefully walked over. On the other side, Collette entered, looking cheerful and excited as she bustled in. Together, they crept around the corners of the room and first even saw each just other as they first saw Cadpig and Two-Tone. "Hi Mom," Collette said, surprised to see Lady there.

"Hi Collette," Lady replied back, just as surprised, and she hung back, waiting for Collette to make her move. Collette then turned to Cadpig and said, "Hey listen Cadpig, come take a look at something I found!"

"Sorry Collette, I…" Cadpig began, but Lady gave an understanding nod, sending the unmistakable message that Cadpig could go ahead. "Oh, okay then!" Cadpig exclaimed. Cheerily, the two puppies bustled out of the room, leaving Lady and Two-Tone alone. With Cadpig gone, Two-Tone sighed, and slumped forward onto the floor. It was then when she just noticed Lady, who gently walked over to Two-Tone's side.

"What do you want?" Two-Tone asked gloomily.

"I just want to talk with you," Lady told Two-Tone kindly.

"Why'd you even bother? I'm just completely worthless…" Two-Tone answered.

"No you're not," Lady told her firmly. stroking her slightly. "Two-Tone," Lady explained softly, "I think you ought to listen to what I have to say…"

'"Oh please… nobody can understand what I'm going through," Two-Tone sighed despairingly.

Lady sighed, and stroking Two-Tone's fur, she asked, "You really care for Lucky, don't you?"

Two-Tone nodded. "I've had this secret crush on him for a long time now. But I was ..too scared. He never really seemed interested in me. He just looked so happy with Rolly and Cadpig that he never even seemed to notice me. I even joined a gang just to impress him by looking tough, but that only backfired… Lucky didn't like my gang leader Mooch, and then my gang leader flirted with me all the time... I know its silly, this is puppy love… "

Lady, however shook her head. "Sometimes you can develop really passionate feelings at a surprisingly young age," she told Two-Tone kindly.

Two-Tone smiled a bit, before saying, "Well, I quit his gang and Lucky and I even had a dance. But then he left the farm to go here. It wasn't anything at first, until I found that he was gonna live here. I just felt so empty back home. I couldn't stand it. The tenants didn't really seem to notice me, and my foster brothers and sisters didn't either. My foster mom and dad weren't there anymore, and Mooch and his gang kept on harassing me day after day ... and I couldn't see him anymore. Not even just watching him playing with his friends. He was gone. And I just didn't want to live like this anymore. I just had to come here. I wanted to be back in a smaller family, and I wanted to be with him, hoping, maybe somehow, that I could ask him. We briefly were together last night …" Two-Tone sighed, before bitterly growling, "Before she came… And then all is lost…. I feel abandoned, uncared and like I'd never feel loved again…."

Smiling sadly, Lady stroked Two-Tone from front to back, still shivering as tears rolled down her face. "Two-Tone, everything will be all right, I promise. I am sure Lucky still loves you."

"How do you know that?" Two-Tone asked sadly. "He pays so much attention to Rebecca..."

Lady shook her head and smiled. "Oh Two-Tone...because ... I was once in your place too..."

Two-Tone looked at Lady in a way that was skeptical, yet at the same time, a bit curious. "Really?" she asked.

Lady took a deep breath, and then looked clearly at Two-Tone, and said, "Way back when, when I fell in love with Tramp, I soon discovered that he had a history with other girls. He kept it secret from me when we first met, so naturally, when I found out, I grew very depressed and very suspicious with him. I confronted him after I found out, fully expecting our relationship to be over for good. But he really did love me, however. After he helped save Junior from a rat, showing just how much he cared for me, I began to realize how much he really loved me, and after saving him from the pound, I let him into my heart once again. But even after all of that, I still remained suspicious. I always feared above anything else that if he'd return to the streets, he'd pick up his old habit of leaving girlfriends again. I begged and begged for him to not return to the streets that I knew he always loved … and for my sake, he agreed, though I could tell he really missed being out. Time passed, and Tramp and I became preoccupied with raising our children... but the problems between us had not finished yet. "

Two-Tone looked very intrigued as Lady continued, "Later, Tramp's ex-girlfriend came over to our house. She was Tramp's closest girlfriend before me, and upon re-meeting her, I could see how uncomfortable Tramp felt, and I grew nervous myself. It felt completely miserable, as all I could think of was the possibility that Tramp might still leave me for her, even after all of this time. He kept showing and telling me how much he loved me, but I couldn't really listen. Every time I saw Tramp talking with another lady, even your foster mother, I grew paranoid and easily outraged and depressed about it. I felt like I could never trust him again, and to me, it only felt like a matter of when he would leave me. But through all this time, he always loved me, and once I realized that, we made up and have been as close as a couple possibly be ever since."

Lady smiled and closed her eyes dreamily as she reminisced over when she realized this before looking back at Two-Tone, who was watching her intently, "Your mom and dad told me how close you and Lucky are, and how much Lucky likes you. So I'm sure that Lucky really loves you, whether you realize it or not. Ask Lucky yourself, and give him the chance to show all the affection I'm sure he wants to give you."

Two-Tone nodded, her eyes wide open, before asking, "And the ex? How did you deal with her?"

"Well," Lady began, wondering how to approach the subject. "Tramp and I let her know clearly that we are a couple. We didn't yell at her and tried our hardest not to hurt her feelings, yet at the same time, we were clear and firm in showing that we truly love each other," Lady explained. "She understood after that, and she never questioned our love for each other again."

"Don't you still hate her though?" Two-Tone asked. "Aren't you still worried she might try to come back?"

"We weren't on best of terms for a bit," Lady confessed. "But ... Well, I'm not sure that you and Rebecca could end up like this ..."

"End up like what?" Two-Tone asked curiously.

Lady smiled before explaining, "After Tramp and I talked to her, she accepted our relationship and never flirted with Tramp again. She and I then found that we have some other things in common. We're both mothers who deeply care about our children, we both like to sing, rock the babies' crib, bathe and style ourselves, and spend time with our families, and we've both even come to depend upon and support each other... And even though our backgrounds are very different, the two of us almost feel like sisters now."

Then, Two-Tone's eyes widened in shock, before asking, "Lady? Was that ex-girlfriend... Peg?"

Lady nodded before saying, "Yes, she was. She thought Spunky had died, and between that and being kept away from Angel, I think she was interested in Tramp because she needed some emotional support. I know this all seems impossible, seeing how nicely Peg and I get along today, but we really didn't like each other when all we could think about was our rivalry over Tramp," Lady said. "But once we've gotten to know each other as individuals and once Peg understood how much Tramp and I loved each other, our rivalry blossomed into friendship."

Lady smiled sweetly at Two-Tone and gave her a big hug before saying, "And who knows? If you can open your heart up to Rebecca and give her a chance as an individual instead of a rival, maybe the two of you will find that you're not as far apart as you think."

And with that, Lady gave Two-Tone several soft, affectionate rubs before proceeding out of the room happily, leaving Two-Tone to look at her intently, watching her departing form while remaining deeply in thought.

Rebecca was walking down the hallway, fuming, still in disbelief with how shockingly harsh Puffball was. Annette had just come, whispered something to Penny, and the two of them then ran off up the stairs, leaving Rebecca on her own in the living room. Going on one of the last remaining cushions which wasn't being used as a bed, Rebecca sighed. She thought going to Lucky's world would be a nice treat … and never expected the kind of welcome she ended up getting.

"Hey," came a voice. Turning, Rebecca saw XL walk over to the couch and jump by her side.

"Hello," Rebecca said dourly.

XL stared at her and asked, "How do you get to … wherever you're from?"

Rebecca sighed, expecting such questions. "I said already, you can't normally. I got sent through time by those two time guardians…"

"That makes no sense," XL told Rebecca suspiciously.

"I know it doesn't make sense!" Rebecca cried out in anguish, thoroughly annoyed. "But that's how it happened."

"Puffball said you're a murderer…. Does this mean you're on the run …."

"No!" Rebecca sighed impatiently. "I told you what happened."

"Who are this Shala and Belinda anyway?" XL asked suspiciously.

Rebecca groaned, and placed her head on her paw angrily. "I'm done answering questions."

"Well I still have questions to ask," XL said stubbornly.

"Why should I not ask you some questions then?" Rebecca snarled. "How come your pets keep you? Foxes are known for being wicked, crafty, vile…"

"Hey, stop it!" XL gasped.

"Well, now you know how I feel," Rebecca said frustratedly.

XL was about to shoot back, but at that moment, Peg slowly walked in the room. "Good day, you two," she said, before turning to XL. "XL, mind if I take over from here?"

But before XL could answer, the sound of the tug of war game immediately caught his attention. "Hey guys! Wait for me!" XL shouted, and he tore off.

Peg chuckled and said, "Boys just can't help themselves, can they?" She then jumped on the couch and sat next to Rebecca, smiling softly at her. "Doin' okay?"

Rebecca shook her head. "It's not fair! How come nothing is working out right? I really cannot stand to explain my story over and over … And you must've heard Puffballl…"

"Yes dearie, but don't take what he said too seriously. The stress is really gettin' to him, plus, as an ex-streetdog, he's naturally pretty stressed out and suspicious."

"What's a streetdog?" Rebecca asked.

Peg sighed and said, "A streetdog is a dog who has to live out on the street because they have no human family to take care of them. Actually, a lot of us are ex-streetdogs. Besides Puffball, Spunky, Angel, Tramp and I were all streetdogs once too."

Rebecca nodded in understanding, but then asked, "Then how come none of you acted like he did?" Peg shrugged before saying, "Sometimes, stress comes out in really different ways."

Rebecca nodded slowly, before looking down. "I thought I was just going to have a happy time seeing Lucky again…"

Peg patted Rebecca gently, before quietly asking, "You really like Lucky, don't ya?"

Earnestly, Rebecca nodded. "I can't believe he doesn't remember me at all…"

Peg sighed. "Look sweetie," she began. "Not everything works out in the end. Sometimes the one you like doesn't like you back…"

"I don't think that Lucky doesn't like me though," Rebecca said quietly. "He seems so nice."

Sighing, Peg shook her head again, and gently whispered, "Sweetie, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems like Lucky and Two-Tone are real solid."

"Solid?" Rebecca asked in confusion.

"Close," Peg explained.

"I get that," Rebecca muttered, "But why can't he be close with me too?"

Peg sighed sadly. "Because you can't really love two at once…. Rebecca, I've been at the heartbroken end of things. It's really painful to be there, I'll tell ya. But in the end…" But Peg stopped, for Rebecca was not reacting at all how she was expecting. Instead of crying or looking sad, she instead looked at Peg blankly.

"Are you talking about … courtship?" Rebecca asked confusedly.

Peg looked at Rebecca in bewilderment. "Yes, dearie."

"Heavens!" Rebecca gasped in shock, and to Peg's amazement, she began to smile. "I think I'm beginning to understand what all of this is about!"

Peg stared at Rebecca as she excitedly said, "You all think that I want to marry Lucky, is that right?" Seeing Peg nod unsurely, Rebecca smiled even more and said, "Now I understand why Two-Tone hates me, if Lucky and Two-Tone are actually going to marry each other."

"You mean … you don't want to marry Lucky?" Peg asked incredulously.

"Heavens no!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Don't get me wrong, I like him very much, but I've got to return to my own world. I can't stay here forever. Besides, I am far too young of an age for courtship in my society!"

Peg stared at Lucky bewilderedly before saying, "Then why did you say you like Lucky? And use all those terms of endearment about him?"

"I do like Lucky," Rebecca said. "I like him as a friend… and in my culture, we always speak very highly of our close friends..." Looking at Peg curiously, Rebecca asked, "Did you mean "like" in another way?"

As Peg nodded, Rebecca smiled. "Thanks, madam. You don't know how delighted I am to finally understand what is going on. I will talk to Two-Tone at once, as soon as I see her again."

"Just make sure it'll be a natural time," Peg suggested.

"I will," Rebecca promised. And with that, Rebecca trotted out, wearing a grin of excited confidence on her face.

As XL returned to tug on the rope, Lucky asked, "How's Rebecca?"

XL shook his head. "She's not answering my questions."

Lucky glared at XL. "Seriously, don't you get that she's not in the mood?"

Before XL could answer though, Tramp approached them.

"Hey Pop!" Scamp said eagerly, wagging his tail.

"Hi there Whirlwind," Tramp greeted him affectionately. Rubbing briefly, Tramp asked, "Lucky, how about you and me talk?"

Lucky nodded hesitantly, and followed Tramp until they got to the landing of the stairs. Tramp looked at Lucky seriously and asked, "How you are doing?"

"Okay," Lucky lied.

"Nice try, but I know you're not," Tramp said.

Lucky sighed. "I wish Rebecca and Two-Tone would stop fighting…. And it's all over me…"

"You know, I was just in your paws a while back," Tramp told Lucky. Lucky looked up at Tramp before Tramp said, "Now listen. You've just got to be straight with them. First of all, you do know who you're in love with, right?"

"Yeah," Lucky sighed. "But Two-Tone doesn't love me anymore…"

"Because she thinks you love Rebecca more than her," Tramp corrected.

Lucky groaned. "How could she think that? I barely even know Rebecca… Girls… why do they have to get so jealous?"

Tramp chuckled. "I know just what you mean."

"So what do I do?" Lucky asked. "I want to be with Two-Tone again, but I want to be friends with Rebecca too…. Can't I do both?"

"There's no way to tell for sure," Tramp warned cautiously. "The final straw with Buster and me was when I went to live with Lady, but we'd been rocky for ages…. But then I'm still great friends with Peg, even though she was my last girlfriend before I met Lady. Really, it depends on how they react."

"Well," Lucky sighed. "There's no way it could get worse than this… I'm gonna talk to them and fix things up."

And Lucky bolted away as Tramp smiled at the little puppy, impressed with his proactiveness and determination. As he looked around, eager to find Rebecca and Two-Tone.

Meanwhile, Puffball was looking into the toilet, his heart beating incredibly fast as he looked around alertly. He could not understand how no one else was worried. Even Danielle, who knew full well what was going on, didn't seem as worried as he did. He sighed exasperatedly. She looked so much like she could be one of them….

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached the bathroom door. Puffball froze in terror, knowing very well that he walked to the bathroom alone. "I'm not afraid of you!" Puffball gasped, trying to conceal the worry he felt in his heart.

"Whoa, calm down, Puffball," came a voice, and Puffball looked and saw to his relief that it was just Spunky who entered the bathroom.

"Sorry Spunky," Puffball told him embarrassedly, relaxing his shoulders.

Spunky sighed. "Puffball, we need to talk," Spunky said directly. "You're really acting up…"

"No, really…" Puffball began, but Spunky shook his head.

"Puffball, it's obvious you're hiding something," Spunky told him straightforwardly.

Puffball sighed, wondering how he would ever get out of this. But he then realized that like him, Spunky was another ex-streetdog, and he knew that only another dog who lived out on the streets like him could fully understand. Tentatively, and being careful not to say too much, he meekly asked, "Spunky? Did you get into any fights?"

"Oh yeah," Spunky said, waving his crippled leg. "You know Buster, right? He did this to me and gave me all these," and bent down to show all the scars Buster's attack gave him. Puffball stood up on two legs and gasped at all of the deep, red scratches hidden under Spunky's fur.

"I shouldn't have asked," Puffball told Spunky guiltily.

"That's all right," Spunky told Puffball. "But we don't have to worry about any fighting. We're a long way from the rough parts of town. We'll be just fine."

Puffball shook his head and sighed, "I hope you're right," and sullenly walked out of the bathroom leaving Spunky to watch him concernedly.


	15. Chapter 15

**Welcome back to another chapter! Thanks to everyone for continuing to read, and XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for favoriting, following, and reviewing. XL, CiCi, and Leo belong to XLR8 the Fox. Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians belong to Disney.**

Chapter 15 – Warming and Chilling

"So how did everything work out?" Pongo asked anxiously once Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky returned to Jim Dear and Darling's bedroom.

"Two-Tone was feeling awful," Lady explained, "But I think she is feeling better now. I told her my story, and then that Lucky is sure to still love her. I also told her of how well Peg and I get along now as an example of how former romantic rivals can get along."

"Actually," Peg said, "Turns out that this was all a big misunderstanding. Rebecca's actually not interested in Lucky romantically, just in being his friend. She felt really good once she saw the problem, and she's gonna try to fix things up." Shaking her head, Peg sighed though and said, "But it's not just Lucky that's bothering her. Puffball calling her a murderer really got to her, and then XL was asking her lots of suspicious questions."

Perdita shook her head. "I really do not understand why Puffball would call Rebecca a murderer. She's been really polite and seems far too sensitive and gentle for that. I know she got into that fight with Two-Tone, but I can't imagine her murdering anyone. Why in heavens does he think she is?"

Spunky shook his head. "I tried talking to him about it," he said, "He got really scared when I first arrived. Then he asked me if I got into fights on the streets. It seemed like he's worried about some kind of fight here."

The other parents looked confusedly. "Why would he ask that?" Lady asked.

"Beats me," Spunky answered.

Pongo then turned to Tramp. "What about you? Got Lucky straightened out?"

Tramp nodded. "Think so. He's gonna try to fix this up himself. He's hoping to still be lovers with Two-Tone yet also be friends with Rebecca."

"I'm really impressed," Pongo said thoughtfully. "I remember way back when he asked me to pick him up through the snow… He really has grown since then. Hope he can sort things out."

"Hey guys!" Tramp called out abruptly. Looking at him, the others saw that he had lifted up the thick, canary blanket draped on Jim Dear's bed to reveal the underside of the bed.

"What about it?" Peg asked.

Lady, however smiled. "Tramp! I forgot! The flashlights!"

"Yep," Tramp smirked.

Pongo and Perdita looked at each other in delight. "We actually have put batteries in things before," Pongo explained. "The kids give our remote a lot of wear and tear, so we've had to help get it running."

"And flashlights are so much safer!" Perdita exclaimed in relief. "We can slip them around our necks instead of carrying them with our mouths. And also, there is no way for them to burn us or anything else!"

"Trouble is though, we're too big to get under there," Tramp said, and at once, the other four parents looked at Lady and Peg, easily the two shortest of the group, who nodded understandingly. Carefully carrying their candles, Spunky and Tramp walked to the other side of the bed and crouched down with their candles low to give their wives enough light. They hardly dared to talk, for they if knew that if their candles slipped, it would be far too easy for the tightly packed, carpeted and cloth-covered room to catch on fire.

"See everything?" Tramp asked, gritting the candle as he tried his best to keep the candle from moving.

Crouching down, Lady and Peg nodded.

"Ready, dearie?" Peg asked.

"Oh yes!" Lady exclaimed, and with that, the two smaller dogs dove under the bed. Despite them being small, it was still a tight fit. Wooden bars holding the bed up forced them to crouch down uncomfortably, and when they got down too close to the dusty carpet, they couldn't help but sneeze. Soon, the two of them saw a medium box labeled "Flashlights". Seeing each other's faces through the dim light, they each grabbed a corner of the box and lying on their bellies, scooted themselves back as they dragged the box out along with them.

"Whew!" Lady exclaimed as she and Peg smiled at their accomplishment. Pongo and Perdita, meanwhile, were on the bed, trying to give the dogs underneath all the space they needed. Pongo then stepped off the bed and picked up the box, carrying it up on the bed, as he and Perdita opened it. Surrounding them, the other four dogs jumped up to watch.

"Wow!" Pongo exclaimed. "We've got … Let's see… one … two … Wow, eight flashlights in here!"

"That means we'll still have to share," Perdita said cautiously, "But it's still a lot better than all of us carrying candles."

Testing them all out, they saw that three of the flashlights were already working.

"Look in here!" Spunky exclaimed, pointing in the box.

Looking in, the others gasped in delight as they saw a pile of batteries stored in the box. Using one of the working flashlights for light, Pongo and Perdita then set to work. Smelling the fragile build and acidity of the batteries, they knew that biting onto them could be hurtful to both the batteries and themselves, they used the tips of their paws to carefully dig through the box and retrieve batteries before placing them in the flashlights. As the two of them worked and the others watched, the door creaked open, and Collette approached, with Angel and Cadpig right behind her.

"Mom, just letting you know," Collette told Lady, and then she whispered something in Lady's ear, to which Lady smiled. "That's really thoughtful of you," she said appreciatively.

"Hey! You guys have flashlights!" Angel asked. "Can we borrow one?"

"No, two!" Cadpig exclaimed.

Angel and Collette looked at Cadpig, who looked determined as she said, "I need one too…. And may I have that white sheet?" Cadpig asked, pointing to the closet.

"Sure, go ahead," Tramp said brightly as Pongo and Perdita just got the sixth flashlight working, and Angel and Cadpig each took a flashlight while Cadpig took a sheet and Collette carried the candle they used to get in out.

Down in the hallway, XL sat on the stairs, looking at the door, taking a break from the game, for he still felt really upset. As he of course heard the happy tugging of Lucky, Patch, and Scamp, he couldn't help but not share their good mood. He of course already knew about the urban legends of foxes, even though he never actually really knew a fox, having been found by his pets as a lost kit and staying with them ever since. Still, Rebecca's words hurt, and he sighed, "I've got to do something to prove I'm not wicked and crafty!"

Staring at the dog door, he then moved forward, and tried leaping through the snow, and hurriedly begun to dig. The snow stung his paws a bit with its biting cold, and he yipped a few times. He groaned however, and continued to dig and dig, feeling his paws go numb, but the snow did not budge, for every time he pushed some snow away, more snow came down to replace it.

"What are you doing?" came a voice. Turning, XL saw Rebecca approach him.

"Trying to dig us out," XL answered.

Rebecca looked at him and told him gently, "There isn't any way you can do this now, not all by yourself."

"I've got to try though!" XL exclaimed. "After all, you think I'm crafty and vile!"

"Hold on!" Rebecca gasped, shaking her head. "I didn't say that you were! I really was not thinking when I said it, I was merely irritated," she said, suddenly realizing that indeed this may have been what Two-Tone, Danielle, and Puffball were saying when they had their nasty encounters with her. "XL, forgive me! I was just in a really bad mood…"

XL looked at her, and smiled. "Really? You don't mean that?"

"Of course not," Rebecca said, shaking her head.

XL looked at Rebecca before asking, "Wanna be friends?"

"Of course," Rebecca answered, and together, the two of them chased each other around in the hallway.

From around the corner, Two-Tone was watching. Even though she didn't like her much, she noticed how nice she was with XL and how willing to apologize she was. Wondering what taking a fresh start with Rebecca would be like, Two-Tone uncertainly walked into the hallway. At that moment, XL went to the kitchen to rejoin the tug of war game. As Two-Tone walked over, the two girls looked at each other. There was a long silence, before Two-Tone finally "Hey," uncertainly.

"Greetings," Rebecca responded nervously, the two of them still looking at each other apprehensively.

Then, to their shock, a high, mysterious voice called out, "You two are being summoned…"

Rebecca gasped, shivering a bit. "Who is that?"

Two-Tone smirked, knowing that speaking eerily and mysteriously was something right up Cadpig's alley.

"Nobody knows," the voice answered mysteriously. Looking up, Rebecca and Two-Tone saw a small, cloaked figure, which somehow was brightly lit up. "Now you two must follow before it's too late!"

"Too late for what?" Rebecca asked nervously.

"Follow!" the voice called out excitedly, waving what appeared to be its front paws up from under the cloak.

By now, Two-Tone was certain that it was Cadpig, but still was curious to see what her foster sister was up to. Rebecca also followed, looking scared. Once Two-Tone and Rebecca got to the base of the stairs, the hooded figure moved further and further down the hallway. Two-Tone and Rebecca crept up the stairs uncertainly until the figure slid off into the storage room upstairs. Looking at the door uncertainly, and then at each other, the two dogs walked into the room. Once they did, they heard the door shut behind them.

"Huh?" Two-Tone asked, but at once, the cloaked figure lifted up its sheet, revealing that Cadpig was underneath, carrying a flashlight underneath. As their eyes adjusted and noticed the other side of the room where another flashlight was stationed, they saw Angel, Collette, Annette, Danielle, and Penny were all sitting there excitedly.

"Surprise!" Cadpig exclaimed. "We're throwing a party!"

Two-Tone and Rebecca looked at each other bewilderedly. "Party? What's that?" Rebecca asked.

"Here!" Annette explained, and at once, she jumped over and gently pressed her front paws on Rebecca's cheeks.

"Hey, what?" Rebecca asked. But at once, the others began to giggle as she felt a tickling sensation on her cheeks. "Here Rebecca," Collette explained, grabbing her a hand mirror. "Look!"

Rebecca did, and to her bemusement, she realized she had two thick, red globs on each of her cheeks, each piled up like cupcake icing. Rebecca laughed, "Wow, I sure do look funny!" The others however, looked at Rebecca expectantly.

"What?" Rebecca asked nervously.

"Well, now it's your turn," Angel smirked. "Go ahead, style someone else!"

Rebecca looked by her side and saw that she was standing by a soft, green lei. "Well, here goes," Rebecca said uncertainly, and she threw it up into the air.

At once, the lei twisted in midair, before it headed straight for Two-Tone. Two-Tone shouted as the lei landed on her, and the others all howled in laughter. To her relief, Two-Tone saw that the lei, instead of being something hostile from Rebecca, was actually quite soft and comfortable, and saw that rather than looking disappointed as if she was trying to hurt Two-Tone, seemed to be smiling at her. "Okay Two-Tone, straighten it out!" Danielle told her excitedly.

Two-Tone nodded as Collette brought the mirror over, and then she laughed. "Hey… I look ritzy!" Two-Tone smirked, posing before the mirror. Seeing a necklace, Two-Tone smiled. She hadn't had this much fun playing dress-up since the one time when she was in the yard sale boxes with Cadpig...

"Okay, you asked for it!" Two-Tone smirked, and at once, threw the necklace towards Rebecca. It landed around Rebecca's neck. Collette brought the mirror over to Rebecca, who smiled and said, "My… That is a nice look!"

The game continued for round after round. Quickly, each puppy had her cheeks painted like Rebecca's, only each with a different color, and each puppy found soon found themselves wearing a different bracelet and necklace. They also each gave and got a special item to wear too. Annette threw Angel the pink shades she found earlier, Angel threw Collette a pom-pom hat, Collette threw Two-Tone two pairs of old baby boots, Two-Tone threw Rebecca a pair of old eyeglasses, Rebecca threw Cadpig a fake mustache, Cadpig threw Penny a fake roses, and Penny threw Danielle a sombrero.

"Well Danielle? Your turn." Annette said cheekily as Danielle straightened out her sombrero.

"Okay!" Danielle said, and abruptly, she ran forward and grabbed Annette's collar, pulled a bit, and hurled her up in the air. Annette shrieked as she fell, and landed right into a small tub, complete with lavender scented bubble bath, creating a big splash for a little puppy.

"Great idea Danielle!" Annette said as her turquoise face paint dripped off, to be replaced by a thin coating of bubbles. "I love this smell!"

Intrigued, the others followed suit and jumped into the tub one by one, playfully splashing before coming out, their paint dripping off their faces and their fur covered with bubbles and a faint lavender scent.

"Now it's time for truth or dare!" Danielle exclaimed. Gathering in a circle, they sat, Smirking, Danielle immediately faced Collette and asked, "Truth or dare, Collette?"

Collette bit her lip, knowing exactly what we should be getting if she answered truth. "Dare, I guess…" she said hesitantly.

"Well, I dare ya to say your crush's name 50 times," Danielle shouted.

Angel and Annette looked at each other exasperatedly. "I knew she was going to ask that," Annette mumbled exasperatedly to Angel, who nodded. "Perfect for getting them to stop thinking about Lucky…"

"Look at Two-Tone and Rebecca though," Angel exclaimed. To their shock, they weren't shooting glares at each other, as they would if they were still thinking about Lucky. Instead, they were watching Collette intently as she cried out, "I don't have a crush!"

"Yeah you do," Danielle pointed out.

"Well, then I dare you to comb your ears out," Collette smirked.

"Wha? I can't do that!" Danielle cried out.

"Then I will for you," Collette responded, a huge smirk stretched across her face. With lightning quick speed, she grabbed a comb. Hurriedly, Danielle screamed and tore around the room as Collette was hot in pursuit, comb at the ready. Screaming playfully, Danielle jumped upon piles of boxes and boxes as Collette relentlessly chased her with the comb. Reaching the top of the boxes and trapped, Danielle tumbled over behind the boxes, to which Collette followed and continued chasing her. Everyone else began to laugh furiously as they heard the furious sound of Collette and Danielle pawing at each other from behind the boxes, undoubtedly putting on quite a vigorous playfight.

"That was …. So funny!" Rebecca exclaimed, quaking with mirth. "Don't you think so?"

"Ha ha, you said it," Two-Tone exclaimed..

"Let's do massages!" Collette suggested.

And at once, the puppies hurriedly paired up, Annette with Collette, Danielle with Angel, and Penny with Cadpig. This only left Rebecca and Two-Tone remaining. Looking at each other, Rebecca and Two-Tone nodded.

"The one with the longer name gets massaged first," Collette said.

"Okay Two-Tone, lie down…."

"Huh? Me?"

"You have to, Two-Tone. You have a dash in your name," Cadpig pointed out as Penny prepared to massage her and the others snickered. "That makes eight characters, Rebecca has seven."

"Well, all right," Two-Tone gulped. Rebecca smiled. She had never done anything like this before in DeVil Ville. It was a nice feeling, and as she massaged Two-Toe's large, round belly and heard her cute, giggly chuckles, Rebecca had a hard time believing that this was the same dog that she fought with that morning.

"Let's switch places!" Angel called out as Danielle groaned and got up, preparing to massage her. Rebecca lay back down, as Two-Tone prepared to give her a massage. As Rebecca looked up, and saw Two-Tone's paws on her belly, she couldn't help but feeling a bit apprehensive. She saw how much bigger Two-Tone was than she was, and knew that in such a vulnerable position, Two-Tone could easily hurt her while making it seem like an accident. Knowing Two-Tone was standing above her, Rebecca's heart began to beat as her eyes closed, expecting at any moment to feel sharp claws deeply scratching her skin…

But that scratching never came. Instead, came a surprisingly warm massage. Rebecca smiled, her fear washing away, and realized that despite their rough first meeting, Two-Tone really was kinder and gentler than she imagined.

Just then, there was a tap at the door. "Two-Tone, Rebecca? You in here?"

Before anyone could respond, the door creaked open and Lucky entered the room. Staring, Lucky looked bewilderedly at the room, covered with scattered dress-up items, lying face paint, and the tub. "Wow… you girls sure get up to some weird stuff."

"Yeah," came another voice, and Scamp then walked into the room. "Ugh, what's that smell?" Scamp asked, placing a paw on his nose in disgust.

Angel smiled and said, "Well Tenderfoot, how about you find out?"

"What the…" Scamp began, but at once, Annette, Danielle and Collette all playfully ran behind Scamp and hurled him up into the air. Screaming, Scamp landed in the bubble bath with a big splash as the others began to snicker.

"Well Tenderfoot," Angel told him, laughing. "At least you've got your bath in."

"I'll get you guys!" Scamp exclaimed, and hurriedly, jumped out of the tub, grabbed it with his teeth, and poured the water on Annette, Collette, and Danielle. Meanwhile, XL and Patch followed Scamp up the stairs, and dove into the party. Soon, Scamp found a limbo stand and pole, and after setting it up, many puppies happily joined in on the game.

Smiling, Lucky approached Two-Tone and Rebecca, who were watching the other puppies beginning to limbo. Looking at each of them in turn, he nervously asked, "Um… Two-Tone… Rebecca? Can I talk to you?"

"Of course, Lucky," Rebecca said, and Two-Tone nodded happily. Lucky couldn't help but notice how they both looked much more cheerful than they had all day.

"How about we go to the landing?" Lucky suggested. Two-Tone and Rebecca agreed, and so they did, all the while enjoying the sounds of the party going strong.

"Sounds like they're having fun," Two-Tone smirked.

"Yeah," Lucky said, then he turned to Rebecca. "Hey Rebecca, I just want to say…"

Rebecca however, shook her head understandingly, "Lucky, did you think I was courting you?"

"Um…yeah," Lucky said hesitantly as Two-Tone stared in bewilderment.

Rebecca beamed. "Well, I'm not, Nor have I ever. I do not wish to remain in this world forever. I have got to get back to my own world at some point! Otherwise, my parents would be concerned, and my town still needs to be protected from its evil DeVils. I just wanted to visit because you are the closest friend my age I have ever had, not because I harbored any romantic feelings toward you."

Two-Tone stared in Rebecca in disbelief before Rebecca turned to face her, still smiling. "And you're really fun too, Two-Tone. I would really like it if we could spend more time together. I guess you were just afraid I wanted to take Lucky away from you all this time? Isn't that right?",

Two-Tone nodded, before saying, "Thanks Rebecca," and then proceeded to sniffle for a little bit.

"Two-Tone? Are you all right?" Lucky asked, concernedly watching his girlfriend.

Two-Tone nodded slowly, trying to hide back her tears.

"I really do love you Two-Tone, promise," Lucky told Two-Tone.

Two-Tone sniffled some more and shed a few tears, but smiled at Lucky. Then she looked at Rebecca, and suddenly, her smile vanished and tears began rolling down her face. "Sorry for being so mean to you before, Rebecca," she said guiltily. "You…You're really nice ... I just needed to get to know you better…. I'll talk to Puffball to see if I can get him to change his mind."

"Oh, don't mention it," Rebecca said. "Just …. Well, can we be friends?"

"Sure, why not?" Two-Tone answered, and snickering, the two of them began to tussle on the landing.

"I'm still here, remember?" Lucky shouted in mock annoyance, yet all the same, he was happy to see that the two of them finally stopped fighting and had finally begun to get along.

Just then, Scamp and Patch tore down the stairs, out of breath and panting fiercely, before they saw Rebecca and Two-Tone, wrapped up in a hug. Scamp and Patch looked at each other in confusion before Scamp asked, "Hey? I thought you two hated each other…."

But the two of them were so busy laughing and snickering each other they didn't even notice Scamp and Patch. Happily, Lucky approached them. "I think they're all done fighting now."

"Just like you and me," Patch commented and Scamp snickered as he and Lucky chuckled. Then, Lucky noticed that Scamp and Patch had a different kind of light that seemed to be emanating from their necks.

"Wow, where did you guys find those?" Lucky asked, pointing at the flashlights.

"The parents found a whole bunch of them under Jim Dear and Darling's bed, and we're testing them out," Scamp said proudly, sporting his flashlight like a badge of honor.

"Cool," Lucky said. "I'm getting sick and tired of carrying those candles around and chewing on wax."

"We're gonna look downstairs for more flashlights," Patch said eagerly. "Wanna come?"

"Sure!" Lucky exclaimed. The three of them walked down the stairs, but then Patch stopped, freezing in his tracks.

Patch then looked at them uncertainly. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Scamp answered.

Patch shrugged. "Nothing."

"Come on guys, let's get looking!" Scamp exclaimed. However, as they took a few steps, Lucky groaned, "I'm cold…"

Scamp nodded. "You're cold too? Huh… I thought it was just the bath…"

The three puppies froze in their tracks, looking at each other, not making a sound. But as they stood, they could hear the sound of other paws dashing across…

"Puffball? Leo? CiCi? Is that you?" Patch called out.

No response came, but instead, came a loud, ominous, slashing noise. Looking at each other, the three puppies nodded and moved forward to the kitchen. Barking warningly, the three of them charged into the kitchen. At once, there was the frantic scurrying of paws, and looking up, Lucky, Patch and Scamp saw that the window previously guarded by the sofa cushion, lay ajar once again. To their shock, they saw that jumping through the window were lightning fast forms of pawed bodies, leaping out of the window like shadowy blurs. Looking down with the flashlight as the last form left, the puppies gasped as they saw that the sofa cushion lay on the floor, in tatters as piles of feathers lay surrounding it.

"No wonder it's so cold!" Scamp shouted.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi, here we go with another chapter! My school term is starting again which will make writing more difficult, but I hope to proceed on as normally, though I expect it'll take a bit more time to write and publish chapters. Thank you to Evil-Copper and XLR8 the Fox for your reviews, favorites, and follows, and thank you to everyone for reading this far. CiCi, XL, and Leo belong to XLR8 the Fox, as will a character who will be heavily mentioned in this chapter.**

Chapter 16: Fear Creeping Over

"What's going on?" Lucky asked, looking outside at the eerily ajar open window. As they spoke, snow was piling up on the counter again, and a chilly breeze made them all shiver as they looked.

"Don't know," Patch shrugged. "Maybe it's those Siamese cats again…"

"Oh yeah," Scamp said angrily. "I'm getting real fed up of those cats messing things up!"

"Scamp? Patch? Lucky? Is that you?" came a familiar voice.

Turning at once, Scamp, Patch and Lucky looked and through their flashlights saw that the tall, slender white body of CiCi walking over to them before lying down to get closer to their height.

"Yeah," Lucky shivered.

Looking through the lights, CiCi called out, "Guys, I think they must be gone now." Instantly, they heard some rattling, and walking over were Puffball and Leo, both of whom looked extremely tense.

"What happened?" Patch asked, looking at the torn-up sofa cushion and each of their nervous faces.

Leo sighed. "The three of us were just resting in the kitchen, trying to take a breather. But then we heard some shoving noises and the next thing we know, we saw the cushion fall to the ground. Then a cold breeze came in which blew our candles out, and everything went black. Before we knew it, I felt my mouth being grabbed shut."

"Same with mine," CiCi said as Puffball nodded.

"I felt being pushed away as I tried to get away," Leo continued. "But whoever was gripping me had a pretty tight grip, so I couldn't meow no matter how hard I tried, and I couldn't see where to scratch them," Leo said as Puffball and CiCi nodded.

"Then we heard a ripping sound," Leo said ominously. "It must have been the cushion being ripped up, and then we heard some barking… That must have been you guys. After that, they just let go… I think they're gone," Leo said cautiously.

"Yeah, they jumped out the window just as we arrived," Patch said, bristling. "Nasty burglars… I'd like to show to not mess with us again!"

"Yeah, if it's those cats, they're gonna pay, and big!" Scamp said angrily.

"We better get the others down here," Lucky said worriedly. As quickly as he could, he sprinted out of the kitchen and dashed over to the stairs, barking madly as he reached the landing. "Everyone, we've gotta go to the kitchen!". Within seconds, everyone else, coming from either Jim Dear and Darling's bedroom or the storage room, raced down the stairs. Upon reaching the kitchen, there was a simultaneous outcry of gasps as the horrors of feeling the newly intense cold and seeing the torn, tattered cushion took over.

"Oh no…" Perdita groaned. Carefully, she walked over to the deflated sofa cushion and prodded it lightly. At once, an ominous soft noise occurred as more feathers slipped onto the ground. Annette and Collette, looked at each other in a state of miserable shock. While the cushion was only an object, it was a source of comfort that had always been there to provide them a soft and comfortable place to sit together during all sorts of ordeals their family had. And then suddenly, it stood there, looking all distressed and torn to pieces. Looking at the bottom to see if it could be repaired in any way, they saw to their horror that it too was ripped apart, just as their kitchen window was.

"Somebody really did a good job of trashing our cushion," Danielle said sadly.

"Do you think it was the Siamese cats?" Scamp asked tentatively.

Danielle nodded and, "Maybe. They sure don't like us, so they sure do have the motive."

"And, they have damaged Jim Dear and Darling's belongings before," Lady said sadly. "They scratched the piano, knocked over a vase, and ripped up some curtains, but I've never seen them damage anything this badly."

"Yeah," Pongo sighed, shaking his head. "This cushion is really ripped up…"

"I don't think it's only them though," Patch said cautiously. "t looked to me like there were more than two bodies leaving… It was all so fast and I know cats can be long, but …" He then stopped and shook his head.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Leo said. "Somebody had to shut Puffball's, CiCi's, and my mouths while ripping up that cushion. Cats can do a lot, but I think even that's a bit much for only two cats."

"Do you think the Siamese cats might have gotten some accomplices?" Penny asked worriedly.

"Let me see if I can pick up their scent," Angel said determinedly. The others backed away as Angel walked forward. As she approached the cushion, she took in a few big whiffs. At once though, her anxious expression changed to that of a thoughtful frown.

"What is it?" Annette asked, watching Angel intently.

"I don't know… maybe I'm just imagining things, but … it smells like … the junkyard," Angel said confusedly.

There was a fresh wave of murmuring upon this as everyone took fearful glances at each other.

"The junkyard? How could that be? That's so far away from here," Collette cried out.

"And Buster's dead," Spunky said cautiously.

"And the other ex-junkyard dogs all found homes," Peg added.

"I don't get it… could Buster somehow have come back to life?" Perdita asked worriedly.

"Or could one of the others still be loyal to Buster?" Patch asked.

"They all found homes though," Collette said, shivering a little bit and sounding a bit hurt. "How could someone still be loyal to him if they have a family?"

"They say that where you came from never truly leaves you," Rebecca said cautiously.

"Do you think one of them could have done it?" Two-Tone asked worriedly. "Mooch tried to ruin my life after I left his gang… And Whizzer and Dipstick are still loyal to him even after all this time and they harassed me just as much.."

Scamp shook his head. "Nah. The others just hung around to have a good time, they're not bad guys."

"They did make fun of me for wanting to be a housedog, but I think that's because the others just felt peer pressure from him," Angel said thoughtfully. "They all left him once Tenderfoot trapped him under that junk, so none of them seem to actually be loyal to him. But I'm gonna sniff again, to see if I can pick out any of their scents…" Taking another few whiffs, Angel turned and shook her head. "No, I can't make any of them out…"

"Maybe it's someone from another rough part of town," Tramp said. "There's all sorts of rough areas around." Determinedly, Tramp walked over to the pillow and took a good whiff of it. At once, his eyes widened and he stared at the cushion thoughtfully.

"What is it Pop?" Scamp asked tentatively.

"I'm not entirely sure," Tramp answered slowly. He then took another whiff of the cushion, frowned and walked back. While he was trying to conceal his expression, Lady couldn't help but notice how startled her husband looked.

"Are we going to be okay, Tramp?" Lady asked quietly.

"I hope so Pidge," Tramp answered slowly. "I really hope so."

Looking at each other nervously, the entire crowd then gathered around the cushion, smelling determinedly. "I smell a lot of things… But I think it's mostly just us," Annette said. "We have used that cushion a lot."

"It does smell awfully dirty though," Collette added. "Dirtier than any of us, since we always get our baths in."

"Yeah, too much," Scamp muttered under his breath.

"It smells different than not being bathed enough," Patch said. "We've smelled unbathed puppies all the time when Cruella horded us in those hot rooms, and this smells more than that."

"One thing I'm sure it's not though," Leo said hesitantly, "Is housecats operating on their own."

"How do you know?" Lucky asked.

"Because we cats always take great care to keep ourselves clean," Leo explained. "We always lick ourselves to keep clean, and no housecat could get this odorous before getting the urge to lick again. If this is a cat invasion, I think they couldn't only be housecats, since as a whole cannot tolerate smelling this badly."

As everyone nodded understandingly, Rolly said, "You know, this investigation's kinda making me hungry."

As soon as Rolly brought this up, everyone else began to realize how empty their stomachs felt, realizing that through the busyness of their day, they haven't managed to find time to eat all day long. Seeing the dog food bag, everyone except Leo, who had managed to sneak a mouse earlier in the day, headed over to it and filled their food bowls carefully. As they sat down to eat, there was only one topic of conversation, the speculation of who possibly could have done this.

"Who could want to come in here so badly?" Penny asked nervously. "We're just a big family of ordinary dogs. What would they want with us?"

"Maybe it's burglars," Patch suggested. "They sure look like they could burglars… Speedy, sneaky, and determined… Just the kind of guys Thunder would be facing."

"Then how come they just tore apart our cushion instead of trying to steal it?" Annette asked.

"The cushion's not worth much," Patch answered. "I think they wanted to get rid of it before trying again." Turning to Lady and Tramp, he asked, "Do you guys have anything really valuable in here? That the burglars might want?"

"Not more than any of our other neighbors, I shouldn't think," Lady said, before sighing sadly. Looking out toward the snowy hole where the window once was at the other end of the room, she sighed sadly.

"What's wrong Pidge?" Tramp asked thoughtfully.

"I wonder how Jock and Trusty are doing with the snowstorm…" Lady said worriedly. "They're getting pretty old, and I hope this snowstorm is not too intense for them. I don't know, I really haven't seen them much recently and wish I could check in on them more."

"Hey Pidge, don't worry, they've probably been through a lot of snowstorms, they're sure to be all right," Tramp said reassuringly to which Lady softly smiled.

"I don't think this house would be targeted for its stuff," Lucky said, using his flashlight to peer around the room. "It's not like everything is gold-plated or anything, like those houses of the rich and famous on TV."

"Maybe it's a personal grudge," Angel suggested. "If the Siamese cats were involved, maybe they'd want to destroy things important to us and our pets. That would explain why they took the … china."

She stuttered that last word, for at that moment, she noticed that on her left, Danielle and Puffball had suddenly begun to frantically whisper things into each other's ears. Peering around carefully, she saw that the two of them both looked very nervous.

Meanwhile, Lady also noticed her daughter's peculiar behavior. She saw that Angel seemed to notice the same thing, so she quietly nudged Tramp and whispered, "Tramp… Look at Danielle."

Tramp turned cautiously to make sure they didn't notice that he turned. Annette and Collette, meanwhile, had also begun to look at them, and within moments, every pair of eyes was observing the whispering couple.

"What?" Danielle asked crossly upon seeing their gazes.

"Nothing sis," Collette said nervously. She and Annette looked at each other. Neither one of them were used to their sister being so secretive with them.

Tramp then looked at his daughter again, and said, "Danielle..." but before he could say anything else, Danielle recoiled in agitation.

"Pop, don't ask any questions!" Danielle shouted insistently. There was a shocked silence following that, and Lady and Tramp looked at each other worriedly.

Tramp then said, "I wasn't going to… But if you have anything you wanna say, I'll always be there to listen."

"Well I don't! What makes you think I do?" Danielle asked, getting increasingly agitated.

"Lower the pressure, please! This is not conducive toward anyone's well-being!" Cadpig cried out. There was a soft silence, before she said, "We've got to figure out why this happened, and we need to have a clear outlook on things to solve problems."

"You have any ideas?" Rolly asked.

"Well," Cadpig thought aloud before exclaiming, "What if …. Nah, this can't be right…."

"What?" Rolly asked, desperately.

"Well, what if this is a cat-spiracy cooked up through town?" Cadpig asked tentatively.

Everyone looked at each other, knowing Cadpig had plenty of eccentric ideas, but were curious to hear what she had to say all the same. "What do you mean?" Rolly asked.

"Well," Cadpig said, "Let's say that the town's cats … Or maybe the universe's cats … Are not in harmony and want to get revenge on the dogs for chasing them… What if Si and Am got some help from alley cats to exact revenge on us? That would explain why things smell like a junkyard, if they've gotten some streetcats to help them in the act."

"Maybe," Scamp said. "They've never liked us. But Si and Am are too prissy and snobby. I can't see them hanging out with street cats."

"You can't be sure about alliances though," Spunky said cautiously. "Stranger partnerships form when a common enemy is in sight."

Slowly, everyone's heads gravitated toward Leo, surprised that he had not weighed in on the concept of a cat alliance yet. Instead, they saw that he, XL, and CiCi were sitting a little ways away from everyone else, that XL and CiCi left their dog food mostly untouched, and all three of them were looking down despondently.

"What's wrong, guys?" Patch asked, looking at them concernedly.

Lifting up her head, Collette saw that XL looked surprisingly sad, his eyes tearing up a bit. Feeling sad seeing this, she crossed over and bent down to give him a hug, ignoring Danielle's quiet yet uncontrolled snickering in the background, "What's wrong, hon?" she asked.

"Sc…. Scav… Scavenger…" XL whimpered softly.

"I'm sorry?" Collette asked.

"Scavenger," XL said again.

"Your puppy housemate, right?" Pongo asked to which CiCi nodded. From the corner of his eye, Tramp saw that Danielle and Puffball took yet another fleeting glance at each other.

"He had an operation yesterday," CiCi explained. "We know he'll probably be all right, but it's been a long time since we've been without him. Even when our pets have been out, the four of us have always been together."

"I am sure that he'll be okay," Lady consoled her. "Once your pets come back, he'll probably be right with them to welcome you home."

"I hope you're right…" XL sobbed. "I miss him… He's like my … Brother…"

"I know, XL," Collette consoled him. "When Scamp and Danielle ran away, I couldn't bear it… Even if Danielle can be a pain sometimes," she muttered. But to her surprise, she saw that Danielle wasn't even looking at her.

"That's funny," Collette thought to herself. "She usually loves to watch when I'm talking to him."

Everyone began to split up as they finished their dinner, making sure to lick clean every morsel of food in order not to waste anything. However as Tramp was about to leave, he turned, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Danielle and Puffball where still whispering to each other. Quickly turning, Tramp began to wonder what exactly was preoccupying his daughter and her boyfriend so much. However, just as he begun to think, he felt a soft tapping on his leg. Turning, he saw that Danielle sat there smiling at him. "Hey Dad? May I please ask you something?"

"Sure, I guess," Tramp said, taken aback. He looked at her worriedly, instantly noticing how strangely polite she was.

"In private, please?" Danielle asked.

Okay then," Tramp said. Danielle walked forward and Tramp followed, at Danielle, wondering if he could get anything out of her. As Tramp followed his daughter forward, he appreciated just how much she took after both of them. At the surface, she looked just like her mom, with her soft, silky fur, long brown ears, and soft, chocolatey eyes. However, Tramp saw some of himself in her too, as her ears were much shorter than her mother's or sisters', her fur was scraggly and wouldn't properly stick down, and she certainly had a mischievous, plucky side from his days in his youth. Or at least, that was she was normally like, and seeing her this tense and serious made Tramp very worried. Danielle then led Tramp right by the basement door, where nobody else was hanging around. Looking everywhere tensely, Danielle finally looked right into her father's eyes.

"Could you do me a favor, please?" Danielle asked plaintively.

"Okay," Tramp said, still alarmed with her abnormally polite behavior.

"Well, uh…" Danielle said slowly, before saying, "Just so long as we're, uh …alone in the house, uh… I can't say it."

"It's okay Danielle," Tramp said comfortingly. "I'm your dad, and I'm really concerned for you. I wanna hear what you've got to say."

"Okay," Danielle said hesitatingly, and took in a deep breath. Then, she looked at the ground and muttered, "Could … uh, could you make sure to… to…. to not let Scavenger in our house?"

"What?" Tramp asked, bewilderedly. "Scavenger, the pup who lives with CiCi, Leo and XL? That Scavenger?

"Yeah….It's just …" Danielle stuttered, before saying, "Well, we have, uh… So many of us in here already, so I would not us to run out of food."

Tramp looked at Danielle anxiously. "Danielle, why are you worrying so much? You seemed so tense about Rebecca coming in too. I don't get it, you don't usually act like this… Is this about Puffball?"

"No!" Danielle cried out, shaking her head. "I told you, it's just I don't want us to run out of food."

"I don't see how one puppy is gonna make much of a difference," Tramp said. "Really Danielle, I'm surprised you're worrying about this. Especially since even Rolly doesn't seem worried."

"Yeah, well…" Danielle said before saying, "His name is Scavenger, so he's bound to eat a lot."

Tramp looked at Danielle before saying, "Why are you asking this? Especially because you're talking about something that won't even happen. First, we're still completely snowed in. And Scavenger's at the vet, so he's gonna come back when his pets will, and they'll take him to their home."

"But what if that doesn't happen? What if Scavenger gets here first?" Danielle asked.

"What makes you think that? Especially since he'll be recovering from his operation," Tramp asked. Danielle bit her lip.

"Please Dad," Danielle cried earnestly.

"Danielle, you've got me really worried," Tramp told her seriously, more worried than ever with how frightened his daughter seemed. "You've never been this much of a worrier, so I know something's really bugging you."

"No, really, nothing is!" Danielle shouted in protest.

"Well," Tramp said hesitantly, before saying, "We're talking about something that won't even be happening. But if he does come, we really can't say no. CiCi, Leo and XL have all been great guests, and they're really worried about him, so we really should let him in…"

"But he's ... bad!" Danielle shouted, but then looked around frantically.

"Why do you say that?" Tramp asked worriedly.

"With a name like Scavenger, he's gotta be!" Danielle replied.

"Well, my name has all sorts of bad meanings," Tramp replied. "Does that mean I'm evil?"

"Well… uh, no, but …" Danielle stuttered, looking visibly alarmed.

"Sorry Danielle, but we really should let him in," Tramp said, feeling great pain as he spoke, "Unless you could give us a really good reason otherwise."

"I told you! He'll eat all our food and we won't have any left!" Danielle cried out desperately.

Tramp looked at Danielle and sighed, and gave her a hug. "I love you Danielle, so much... I really do. And I really wanna help... But you've got to be straight with us before we can really help with whatever's bothering you."

And with that Tramp left, leaving Danielle alone, looking thoroughly concerned and horrified.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello everyone, I'm so happy to be back! First off, I'm sorry for the wait. I've come under a long illness, started a new term, and had an extensive load of work from my job, so I've hardly had the energy to write lately. But by no means do I have any intent on giving up on this story and fully intend on writing it through to completion. Thank you most of all to Evil-Copper and XLR8 the Fox for their feedback, favorites and follows of the story, as well as to everyone else for continuing to read this story.**

Chapter 17: A New Source of Warmth

As the hours slipped slowly towards twilight, the already chilly temperature outside turned even more ferocious. Slowly but steadily, after proceeding to feed, water and change Junior and putting him to sleep, then looking around in vain for some opportunities to have some fun, everyone had gradually congregated to the living room. With its soft, plush carpets and cushy, warm sofas, as well as its location far away from the open kitchen hole where a window once stood, the living room was one of the most comfortable places remaining in the house. Yet despite the living room's comforts, the chilly wind continued to put up a tough fight, and aided by the lack of a window, it still was able to permeate the house with its haunting, frigid breaths.

"I hate it, it's so cold," Rolly said, shivering and hugging himself as tightly as he could.

"But we can't put up something else as a window," Lucky pointed out. "Whoever ripped up the cushion will just destroy that too."

"So what can we do?" Penny worriedly asked. "This cold is awfully discomforting."

"We can always try some positive thinking," Cadpig suggested, trying to project optimism into her voice. "You know, hot things…. Saunas and candles and roaring fires…"

"Cadpig, that's it!" Patch exclaimed, wagging his tail. "We can start a fire! Thunderbolt tried that once!"

"Something would have to start the fire though," Pongo said cautiously. "We will need a flame much larger than that we used to light the candles. We probably have no choice but to burn some wood."

"We have to be careful though, we must avoid breaking any of Jim Dear and Darling's things. Our vandals have done enough of that as it is. Unless Jim Dear and Darling have some spare firewood lying somewhere..."

However, just as Perdita said that, Lady's eyes then lit up a little bit. Everyone turned to look at her as realization dawned upon her face before she shivered a little bit and looked down at the ground.

"What is it Mom?" Scamp asked excitedly.

. "I think …. We might actually have some spare firewood," Lady said hesitantly.

"Really? Where, Pidge?" Tramp asked.

"Well," Lady said, "I haven't seen it in a while, and it's not in a place where we tend to look, but I think there might be some in the corner by the doghouse. There used to be some, anyway. I remember it well because that's where that rat that attacked Junior was, hiding inside of the logs…"

"We've got to get those logs!" Scamp said determinedly, and before anyone knew it, he rushed out of the living room and hurtled toward the front door. "I'm gonna start digging right now for them!" he called out before pushing himself out the dog door.

"Hey Scamp, you're not gonna have all the fun by yourself!" Angel exclaimed, pushing Scamp a bit as she followed and jumped through the door..

"Count me in too!" Patch exclaimed. "I'd love to do something exciting!" So he too jumped through the dog door. However, as he jumped, he pushed Scamp and Angel aside, making it a very tight fit. The three puppies, squeezed in the tight dog door with their back halves still inside, felt a bit of free room with the space that XL had previously dug, but as soon as they pushed their bodies outside, a vicious atmosphere of cold began to harshly gnaw at them. Above their heads, some snow had begun to drip from absorbing their bodily warmth, putting an unpleasant downpour over their head fur.

"Can you guys see anything?" Scamp asked frustratedly as the snow that dripped on his face slowly rolled down onto his eyes.

"No, other than white," Patch said disappointedly. "I forgot how hard seeing through snow would be."

"Let's go back inside and tell the others," Angel explained, and pushing herself carefully between Scamp and Patch, she slipped out of the door and back into the house. She gracefully landed on her butt, shaking her head.

"All right, Angel?" Peg asked, rushing over to cuddle her daughter to warm her up from the chill.

"Yeah Mama," Angel answered sadly."But it's so hard to see through the snow."

"Hey! I think I know what you guys need," Lucky said confidently, and he pointed to a some of the flashlights that were lying on the ground.

"Great idea, Lucky!" Pongo said appreciatively, giving his son a small hug. "These will really help brighten the snow,"

"And who knows, they may provide a bit of warmth as well," Perdita added, stroking Patch and Penny nervously. "Every little bit matters when there is so little warmth around."

"How much light do you think we'll need?" Patch asked.

"As much as you can while still being efficient," Spunky said cautiously. "The more light the better, but it's probably a tight fit, so not than many of you can fit without bumping into each other."

"I think maybe what we should do," Penny suggested tentatively, "Is to have two puppies spotting for every puppy digging. That will brighten up the entire surroundings so everyone can see nicely."

Everyone agreed, appreciating Penny's idea, and soon, Lucky and Two-Tone, Rebecca and XL, and Cadpig and Penny grabbed flashlights, each pair paired with Scamp, Patch, and Angel respectively.

"Pongo, Perdy, CiCi and I will follow your tunnel," Tramp said. "Once your little paws can make a path, our big paws can clear more out of the way and then we can follow you guys."

CiCi nodded, before saying, "Then we'll bring the logs inside. You guys will be all tired out from the digging anyway, and these logs aren't gonna move without some big bodies to get them moving."

Lady, Peg and Spunky then all looked at each other. "I guess we'll be lighting the fires then," Lady said softly as Peg and Spunky nodded in agreement.

"Know how to light things?" Leo said, emphasizing his still burnt paw.

"No, but our paws are small enough to light matches, so I'm sure we'll get the hang of it pretty fast," Peg told Leo confidently.

"Great," Leo said. "I'll try to teach you the basics..."

"I'm gonna bring in some snow to cool us off in case anyone gets burnt," Spunky said and he walked outside, scooped up some snow and then walked over to the living room, as Peg and Leo followed. Lady was about to leave too, but she then felt a small tap at her rear. Turning, she saw that Annette and Collette were looking at her, both with puppy dog eyes fully bared. "Mom, can we come and watch? And maybe help too?"

"Well, I suppose it can't hurt to watch," Lady smiled sweetly, nuzzling her daughters. "I'm afraid it could be dangerous for you two to light, but if Peg, Spunky and I get a good handle on things, I'll let you try it out for yourselves."

Annette and Collette cheered excitedly as they followed their mother to join the others in the living room.

As they left, Scamp, Angel, and Patch looked at each other excitedly, and one by one, they jumped through the front door. As soon as they got out, they blindly trudged forward as far as they could through the relentlessly difficult snow piles, the snow above still dropping on their heads. Still though, as they began to push on the snow, they felt the snow slowly begin to give way. Soon, they were even able to take a few steps forward, and as they kept on pushing, they found it got easier and easier as they got better and better at it.

"I bet I've dug through more than you!" Scamp dared to Angel after he brushed aside a large clump of snow.

Just then, they looked behind them, and saw that a light had flickered to join them, and Lucky had emerged standing behind them. After he came out, Two-Tone, Rebecca, XL, Cadpig, and Penny followed, each carrying their own flashlight.

"Yay! We can actually see now!" Patch yipped, taking in the light that the six flashlight puppies shot forward at the gleaming, white snow.

"Still, I wish the snow would budge more!" Scamp said.

"It's going a little," Angel pointed out. "At least the others can fit outside,"

"Yes, you guys have gotten rid of quite a lot of snow," Penny added.

"Let me try something," XL said, setting down his flashlight. Curling up into a ball, he rolled forward and crashed into some snow up ahead. The others, eager to try it out, followed suit for a couple times to weaken the snow piles, and then proceeded in digging through the snow, which now that it was rolled into, was more cooperative than ever. That was, until Patch jabbed at a hard piece of snow to his left side. "Ow! This snow's not going anywhere!"

"Let me try," came an eager voice from behind. Turning, the others saw that Rolly was ambling through the tunnel. The others looked at each other confusedly and a bit apprehensively. With his sluggish gait and short legs, Rolly hardly looked like a lot of help to dig through enormous heaps of snow, not to mention his ample presence made the already tight tunnel even more crowded.

"Rolly, I don't think you'd like digging much," Lucky began to Rolly, trying to sound as kind as he could.

Rolly, however, shook his head. "Nah… I'm not digging. I've got my own way of doing things."

Perplexedly, the others watched Rolly as he excitedly approached the icy chunk of snow. Watching his paws expectantly, the others looked in shock as they realized that instead, he had opened up his mouth and moved his head straight toward the icy snow. With a resounding cracking sound, the icy wall completely vanished, and the snow on the ice crumbled onto the ground, clearing the path.

"Rolly, did you … Eat that?" Penny asked, shocked with her brother's talent.

"Course," Rolly said casually. "How else do you think I've managed to get at the frozen shrimp?" Rubbing his belly, Rolly said, "Don't tell Mom or Dad about my talent though, and I'll keep doing this more."

"Don't worry, I can't wait to tell Pop how much I've dug through!" Scamp exclaimed.

"And you really don't think Tramp will figure it out?" Angel asked teasingly as they giggled and shared a brief cuddle.

The dig, as they found out, was turning out to be surprisingly enjoyable. Due to the warmth of the six flashlight, each puppy that was holding them felt a comforting warmth around the mouth, and Scamp, Angel, and Patch felt the warmth of the lights of two flashlights upon them as they continued to dig. Only Rolly didn't get direct exposure to a flashlight, but by watching him, the others could tell that he couldn't care less. As they kept on digging, all of them appreciated just how much of an asset Rolly was. Not only was he really effective at chewing the ice, but he also seemed positively overjoyed to give his teeth the chance to enjoy a workout. The others saw also how much he enjoyed eating the snow. While the others could only shiver and squirm at how frozen their tongues and chattering their teeth would be if they ate all that snow, Rolly was comfortably swallowing huge gobs of snow like they were freshly served scoops of ice cream. Turning and seeing that the others weren't joining in, Rolly asked, "How come you guys are missing out?"

"Well Rolly," Cadpig explained sadly, "I guess it's because some of us don't have quite your physical energy reserves," pointing in at her almost scrawny belly. It sure looks like fun though!

"Aww, that's too bad," Rolly said consolingly. "Triple your helpings of food, and then maybe you'll get somewhere."

Then Penny sighed, "I wish Roger and Anita could be here to triple our helpings… I miss them so much,"

"They'll be back soon, Penny," Patch consoled her. "They've got to be. Concerts don't go on for long."

"Yeah, but neither should vet visits," XL said worriedly.

"You don't think … They've abandoned us?" Lucky asked nervously.

Angel, however shook her head. "Our pets aren't like my other families who did abandon me! They adopted me when most families would say no after this many dogs… And they even were happy to see me even after I ran away from them when any other pet would have thrown me out … And your pets adopted you, Two-Tone. If somebody's gonna be so dedicated to adopt like our pets have, you can be sure they won't abandon us."

"Yeah, Angel sure is right," Scamp said, before muttering. "The sad thing is I wouldn't that have known without her." Scamp sighed and whispered so only Angel could hear, "You really are my angel."

Angel gave Scamp an affectionate smile and blushed fiercely as they continued digging, slowly advancing further and further to where they hoped upon hope the firewood would be stashed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi everyone, welcome back for another chapter! Things have been getting incredibly hectic in my life recently, with my new term providing plenty of challenges, not to mention the demands my jobs are putting on me. As a result, I'm going to be a bit slower with updates I believe; but I still am excited to keep on writing!**

 **I would also like to express my thanks to my friend KataraLover/AzulaLover1 for inspiration and guidance through the original version of the first Runaway Adventures I put up, and also wrote a Lady and the Tramp/101 Dalmatians fanfiction. Having just into contact with art from this fanfic, it has reminded me of our original writing relationship where we both provided each other reviews and comments, and helped give me an impetus to keep writing.**

 **I also want to express my appreciation for Evil-Copper and XLR8 the Fox for their always insightful and thought-provoking comments for this current fanfiction, and really make writing this a joy for me. I cannot properly exercise my gratitude enough here, and their comments really help motivate me to keep writing.**

 **Anyways, now on to the story!**

Chapter 18 – Secrets and Spies

Sitting down by the fireplace, Lady, Peg and Spunky watched as Leo sauntered in, clutching a package of four boxes of matches in his mouth. For light, they placed a few flashlights around in the vicinity. "Now be careful," Leo stated warningly.

"Don't worry," Spunky said confidently. "I've gotten too many injuries as it is," he said, looking at his injured leg and scars on his back. "But even with those, I can handle this, no problem."

Lady and Peg meanwhile, looked down at their front paws and suddenly noticed just how much fur they had around their paws. Spunky noticed this too and gave them a concerned look.

"Oh Spunky," Peg laughed, shaking her head. "Lady and I will be just fine, no need to worry,"

"I wasn't worrying … honest!" Spunky exclaimed, causing Lady and Peg to snicker a bit before they began to bite off some of their fur around their paws. While it was an uncomfortable situation, something that Lady had never done in her life and Peg hadn't done since her days in the pound, it relieved the area around their paws, ensuring their fur wouldn't get singed in the process.

"Yeah right," Peg smirked. "You always pretend to be so tough … but you're a softie deep down, and that's what I love about you," she said affectionately. Behind them, Annette and Collette were eagerly sitting on the couch and oohed adoringly. Lady smiled at them, wondering when they too would find their special somebodies, or in the case of Collette, whether she had already found hers.

"All right, time to get back to business," Leo said as he split over the bag of matchboxes. "Now watch closely so none of you get burned." Trying to avoid using his injured paw and hoping that this would be the last time doing this for quite a long time, Leo pulled out a match and struck it across the box. Instantly, the flame lit up, however, the flame started eerily creeping over to Leo's paw. At once, Leo threw it into a bucket with snow in it, where it fortunately melted. "See what I mean?"

Lady, Peg and Spunky nodded understandingly, but Leo noticed how their eyes still were not hesitant. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked thoughtfully.

"We simply have to," Lady explained, "Otherwise, how would we ever warm up?"

Leo sighed, but pushed over the boxes of matches all the same. The three adult dogs walked forward and instantly bent down to grab the matchboxes. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. In a matter of seconds, Spunky cracked his match in half, Peg dropped hers on the floor, and Lady tried to strike the match against the box, but out of what she knew had to be subconscious anxiety, couldn't get it lit.

"Don't worry Leo, we're gonna be just fine," Spunky told Leo confidently, managing to pull his next match out of the bin without breaking it.

"Still, I guess it would be best for Annette and Collette not to try it just yet," Lady sighed.

"Speaking of which, where are they?" Peg asked.

Lady turned, and to her surprise, Annette and Collette were nowhere to be seen. Looking around anxiously, Lady's fleeting panic subsided however, when she heard a pair of excited laughs nearby. Lifting down her shoulders, Lady said, "They're probably playing a game or something."

"Lady, I think I got my … Oh crud!" Peg gasped, shaking her head as her lit flame faded out. "Sorry…"

"That's okay Peg," Lady told her brightly. "We will all learn how to do it sooner and later, and I'm sure we will have a warm and comfortable evening together."

So determinedly, the three dogs continued to try lighting the matches as all the while, Leo looked at them, impressed with how determined they were to keep on going.

Meanwhile, around the corner of the living room, Annette and Collette stood, looking at each other as they giggled.

"I can't believe we could just sneak out like that!" Collette said.

"You sure you don't want to help Mom with the matches?" Annette asked thoughtfully.

Collette shook her head. "Well, I might like to later. But we've got more important things to do."

"Yes," Annette said determinedly. "It's time for us to figure out what Danielle has been hiding."

Together, the two sisters, each with a flashlight in mouth, slowly turned to slink down the hallway. "I can't believe she's being so secretive with us," Collette said, sounding almost hurt. "We used to always feel free to confide with her and she with us."

"And she's been acting really strange," Annette said sadly. "She's getting so flustered and jumpy now, and just weird …. Like how she attacked Rebecca."

"She seemed to think Rebecca would hurt Puffball," Collette said. "But that makes no sense. Why would she? Rebecca's been perfectly nice."

"I don't know," Annette said. As they reached the front door, without running into anyone at all, they saw the dog door.

"I'll check if I can smell them outside," Collette said, and at once, she jumped through the dog door as Annette stood by, watching expectantly. A little later, Collette jumped back inside, politely shaking her coat off of the snow that covered it.

"Who can you smell?" Annette asked.

"Let's see…" Collette said. "Besides Mom, Peg, Spunky, Leo and us, I smell everyone else… but Danielle and Puffball."

"Oh my," Annette said, looking at Collette intensely. "Makes sense. He's been acting weird too, calling Rebecca a murderer…"

"And he seemed so scared of Scavenger too," Collette pointed out. "They were whispering like crazy then…"

"Fishy that the two of them are missing," Annette muttered.

"Where could they go though?" Collette asked, before in the same split record, their eyes fell upon the spot where the broken window lay, where now, a new hole was carved into the snow.

"We better check it out," Annette told Collette cautiously. Cautiously making their way through the kitchen and leaping over the shards of glass that just the prior days belonged to a healthy, functioning window. Then the two of them leaped into the tunnel outside.

"I'm surprised it can fit both of us," Collette said thoughtfully.

"If we can fit in here, so can Danielle and Puffball," Annette pointed out as Collette nodded.

"We better keep our voices down…" Collette said.

However, just as she said that, a voice said, "Puffball! I heard my sisters!"

At once, both Annette and Collette mouthed to each other, "Hide!" and at once, begun digging separate tunnels in the snow, desperately trying to not make a sound to avoid giving themselves away.

"You're sure Dani?" Puffball asked, his voice asked tentatively.

"I think so," Danielle said nervously. "You stay there. I'll check it out. I'll be back soon, Puffy."

"Right," Puffball said, as Danielle gave him a quick kiss and tore down the tunnel. Meanwhile, Annette and Danielle had buried themselves in the little holes they dug, and frantically tried to cover them up as quickly as they could, hearing the quick patter of Danielle's footsteps like cannons going off as their hearts began to rampantly beat, each desperately hoping that neither would be discovered.

"Annette! Collette! You're gonna really get it!" Danielle shouted. Sniffing around briefly, Danielle could briefly make out their scent. However, as she couldn't smell them beyond a few whiffs, she shrugged and walked back. Nervously, Annette and Collette lifted their heads out of their holes, desperate to hear anything the could.

"I think I was just imaging it," Danielle said to Puffball reassuringly. "Still, I don't get it. Why can't we tell them?"

"We can't worry the others," Puffball said. "I shouldn't have even come here… I've just been a problem for you guys…"

"Nonsense Puffy! As you said, you're not the only reason they don't like us. Besides, you're my true love, and we're gonna get out of this just fine," Danielle said.

"How do you know?" Puffball said anxiously.

"Because we're an amazing family," Danielle said. "We've got each other, and don't forget that! We can always count on each other through thick and thin."

"What chance …" Puffball said, but at once, Danielle interrupted. "We will, Puffy!"

Puffball affectionately said, "Thanks Dani… You're amazing, you know? All the hope and optimism you have … That's part of why I love you so much…"

"Aww, I love you too Puffy. And don't worry. Things will be okay. I'll try to get Dad to stop Scavenger from entering this house."

Then, Annette and Collette heard footsteps, and hurriedly buried themselves back in their holes as Danielle and Puffball passed. As soon as they heard the absence of footsteps, Annette and Collette looked at each other, trying to comprehend what they had just heard.

Meanwhile deep in the snow tunnel, the puppies remained determinedly trying to get to the logs. Scamp, Angel and Patch determinedly kept on digging, feeling their paws turning numb and beginning to tingle, but continued to keep going, frequently keeping up a light chatter about everything they could think of to keep their minds off the increasingly painful cold. Behind them. Behind them, the light puppies were desperately shining their lights, hoping that the tunnel would soon come to an end. The tunnel impacted the puppies differently. Cadpig, with her short coat and slim build, particularly struggled through the intense cold, so eventually, she found herself, meditating to keep herself conscious, leaning on Two-Tone's side, who was doing well comparatively for the others, for her larger build was an asset in this harsh environment. Nobody however, was doing quite as well as Rolly, for he still managed to be eagerly eating hard chunks of ice that got in the way, clearing the paths for the others. That was, until one particularly large bite he took.

"Oh pleh! This does not taste good!" Rolly said, spitting the contents in his mouth out as everyone else hurriedly got out of the way.

"Hey Rolly!" Patch exclaimed, looking down at the contents which once belonged to Rolly's mouth. "That's a big bark down there!"

"Yeah I know," Rolly said crossly. "You don't need to remind me…"

"No, not your bark!" Patch exclaimed. "Bark that's on wood!"

"Oh!" Rolly exclaimed. With that being said, at once, the puppies in the tunnel, flushed with their accomplishment, began digging at the surrounding area. Brushing all the snow off and barking excitedly, the pile of snow slowly began to slide off, revealing a nicely kept stack of firewood in the process.

At once, the group cheered and at once, hurried back down the path they made. On the way back to the house, they ran into Pongo, Perdita, Tramp, and CiCi, trying to enlarge the small tunnel to allow room for themselves to fit.

"We found them Dad, Mom!" Penny exclaimed.

"They're right at the end of the tunnel," Lucky said proudly.

"Wow, great job guys!" Pongo replied energetically.

"Now you all go inside to get a well-deserved rest," Perdita advised. "We'll come in with the logs once we can reach them."

"Hey Whirlwind, maybe we can make a race out of it next time," Tramp teased his son as the others continued to go onward besides Angel and Patch, who hung back to wait for Scamp.

"Yeah! And I'll beat you too," Scamp shot back.

"I don't know about that," Tramp said with a smirk.

"There's only one way to find out!" Scamp shouted.

"Come on Scamp!" Angel exclaimed. "It's time to get back inside."

The puppies approached the living room, where Lady, Peg and Spunky were still attempting to light matches. With practice, they had become much better match lighters, and not only were now much quicker at the lighting, but in the event that any rogue smolders were to come up, they were resourceful enough to use cold snowy water to cool them off. Upon hearing the arrival of footsteps, Lady turned and as soon as her eyes lay on her son, they began to twinkle and sparkle as she beamed over at him.

"Scamp! Everyone!" she exclaimed, her tail wagging furiously. "You're all right!"

"Course," Scamp smiled. "And we found the firewood."

"I knew you would!" Lady exclaimed excitedly.

"Nice work, everyone!" Peg exclaimed as she looked in pride and awe at her daughter.

"Thanks!" Angel said. "Mama, Daddy, is the lighting going well?

"It's a breeze now," Spunky said confidently. "We'll be able to light the wood up in no time."

"Well, no time is now," came a voice, and into the living room walked Tramp, Pongo, Perdita and CiCi, all of whom were each carrying a large log.

"Sure you're okay lighting, Pidge?" Tramp asked thoughtfully.

Lady shook her head, smiling. "Mm-hmm! I've gotten quite a bit better at it."

Carefully, Pongo, Perdita, Tramp and CiCi each put their log down in the fireplace. Then, Lady, Peg and Spunky crept to the fire, each lit a match, and threw it on the logs. While the fire took a bit of time to kindle, the logs soon to absorb the heat energy and quickly, a roaring fire light up the living room.

"Mmm…this feels so good," Patch said, lying down and stretching.

"It's making me tired though," XL yawned. "Let's go to sleep."

Everyone agreed, and yawning, soon lay down in front of the fire place, with the fire roaring and ever steadily warming up the environment. Comforted by the living room's cuddly, soft carpet, they soon began to sleep soundly. However, they made themselves even warmer, as they curled up even closer to each other, feeling the warmth radiating from everyone else's bodies. XL, CiCi and Leo lay together while right by their side, Pongo and Perdita cuddled tightly, as around them slept Rolly, Rebecca, Cadpig, Penny, Two-Tone, Lucky and Patch, all sleeping as they breathed in and out. Scamp and Angel slept next to Patch, and behind them lay Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky, each couple in an especially intimate couple. On Lady's other side, even Annette, Collette, Danielle and Puffball were sleeping, any memories of their tense encounters in the snow temporarily set aside. And for that moment, everything was perfect.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello everyone, alas I have returned. Things have gotten downright hectic for me as of late, so my updates will be more sporadic, but I've still got a plan on where to take this story and will be sure to keep it going. I want to once again thank Evil-Copper and XLR8 the Fox for their favorites, follows, and reviews, as well as to the guest reviewer for their nice review as well. As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their universes belong to Disney. CiCi, Leo, XL, and Scavenger belong to XLR8 the Fox.**

Chapter 19 – The Refrigerator … And What Else?

Rolly couldn't remember the last time he felt this light. He felt himself magically gliding in the sky, licking his lips as all around him, as clouds of ice cream poured their sweet contents right into his mouth. Floating through the air, he looked down far below at the tops of roofs and couldn't believe how he once was able to stay content down there, considering how little food there was. As he gracefully propelled himself through the skies, eating a hot dog every few seconds, he couldn't imagine what could possibly be better than this … Until, suspended a ways in front of him, lay a giant crate of smoky, savory bacon. As the strong smell reached Rolly's nose, he felt his eyes close a bit and his mouth begin to pant excitedly. Like an Olympic breaststroker, Rolly found himself easily pushing through the skies and with each push, the mouth-watering, salty and undeniably fresh smell of the bacon drew closer and closer. He could see the hot smoke emanate right from it, giving the air around it a sense of divinity to breathe in … And then he saw it, sizzling hot, bubbling rapidly. He reached out as far as he could, and grabbed the barrel and reached down for a bite…

Then a loud snore happened, and Rolly woke up. Lifting his head up, he looked around grumpily, trying to see who had interrupted his slumber, but just saw everyone else sound asleep. "Aww, I was so close that time," Rolly moaned dejectedly. "Why can't I ever get it?"

But just as Rolly said that, he heard a strange creaking sound. Bolting upright, he knew exactly what that sound was. Looking around, he growled.

"So, someone's sneaking food," he muttered. "That's not fair! I'm getting rationed, and someone is sneaking food! I'm gonna get to the bottom of this."

Rolly moved forward, but then paused. In the dark and quiet of the night, he suddenly realized how bulky a figure he was and consequently how noisily he moved. "I can't sneak up on them," he thought to himself. Looking back, Rolly grabbed a flashlight and jumped up on top of the living room couch. Turning it on, he looked at the others, all soundly sleeping. Concentrating with all his mind, and trying to ignore a disgusting smell that was slowly becoming stronger and stronger, Rolly looked down at the others and took a head count. Upon finishing, he frowned.

"Everyone else is still there," he muttered to himself. "Then who could be in the kitchen? It can't…"

Rolly paused though, for he felt an odd sort of cushioning where he stepped. Looking down at where he stepped, he stood up and stood that he saw the couch leg was in tatters.

"What the…" Rolly muttered to himself.

At once however, there was a frantic pushing sound, and the sound of scurrying paws. "Boss!" a hushed voice whispered. "Intruder alert!"

Then, a loud commanding bark rang out. Confused, Rolly took a few steps forward. However, just as he did, he heard something racing over to him. Before he could move, he felt whatever it was ram right into him. Catapulted up in the air, Rolly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wake up! We've got intruders!"

"Move out!" another voice said from a ways away, and for some strange reason, the voice almost sounded a bit familiar to Rolly. Before he could think about it though, he turned and saw the others groggily waking up and stretching by him.

"What's going on?" Scamp asked.

"What do you mean, intruders?" Annette said, rubbing her eyes.

"In the kitchen!" Rolly explained. The others followed in. Each of the parents grabbed a flashlight hurriedly as they all approached the kitchen. However, when they got to the kitchen, it was completely abandoned.

"They must've already gone," Angel said thoughtfully.

"Sure you weren't just imagining things, Rolly?" Lucky asked exasperatedly.

Fervently, Rolly shook his head. "No! I could tell…. They raided…"

Rolly paused though, for at that moment, CiCi had just pulled open the refrigerator door, and gasped.

Without a word, everyone crowded around the fridge, and stared in with horrified disbelief. Drawers of the refrigerator lay ajar, with uneven openings. Worst of all though, they noticed that some drawers seemed to be completely empty. And it wasn't just any old drawers.

"The meats," Pongo muttered softly. "They're gone."

As everyone looked in, they realized how right that was. For all the drawers that had once contained meat, eggs and cheese were completely raided. Broken shards of plastic lay in the refrigerator, and in the drawer openings were unmistakable marks of aggressive, violent pawing and scratching. Looking at the door part, they saw that some shelves were also completely mangled, and that all of the milk was going on.

"We've been raided," Patch muttered in horror.

"I heard a series of barks," Rolly added. "I know it had to be dogs." As they all stared at him, he also said, "You guys were all sleeping, so nobody here was involved, so I think it's safe to say we can fully trust each other."

Everyone looked at each other in relief. "Shame we lost all that food," Rolly said mournfully.

"They got more than the food though, "Lady sighed sadly.

"Huh?" Two-Tone asked.

Lady moved her flashlight to light up the living room. Quickly, the puppies rushed into the living room to investigate, as the parents stood outside, lighting things up for the puppies as they observed.

"Jim Dear's vase is broken," Scamp said, seeing shattered vase fragments and flowers with water splattered everywhere on the grounds..

"The piano got destroyed," Collette sighed, seeing that some keys had been ripped off, the top was heavily scratched, and the bench was gnawed on.

"They got the walls good too," Patch said, seeing plenty of bite and scratch marks down there.

"They even got the carpet," Rebecca gasped as they saw puddles and puddles of urine, far more and far bigger than there would be from a usual accident.

"Dirty pawprints are everywhere," Penny sighed, seeing muddy pawprints littering the room everywhere.

"Blankets are ripped up too," Cadpig said sadly, picking up fragmented pieces of blankets.

"And then … there's a symbol on the walls," Angel muttered, nudging a wall she was standing next to.

"Symbol?" Perdita asked anxiously.

Hurriedly, everyone ran over to the wall. Upon looking it, they saw a deeply inscribed pattern on the wall, coated in a bloody red coloring. Upon examination, they noticed that the wall had three clear characters on it: two carrot-shaped markings, and a frown-shaped curve connecting them.


	20. Chapter 20

**Well, here we are with Chapter 20! It's been a long journey so far, but at last, we're approaching the climax! Thank you to Evil-Copper and XLR8 the Fox for their favorites, follows, and reviews, as well as to everyone else for reading this far!**

Chapter 20: Fixing Up the Mess

Looking everywhere around them, the remnants of the raid from the intruders couldn't escape their eyes. At every little bit of space, something lay in shambles, torn up, or ripped up.

"Who could possibly do such a thing?" Penny asked.

"I don't know, but whoever it is they're sure not friendly," Scamp said tensely.

"Why'd they be after us though? We haven't done anything," Collette asked fearfully.

"We've done tons of stuff," Patch pointed out. "And not all of it would please everybody. Buster and Cruella certainly wouldn't be happy."

"Ooh! Maybe they are turning into ghooosts!" Cadpig exclaimed, lifting her paws up dramatically.

"Seriously Cadpig," Lucky sighed, with a half-amused tone to his voice.

"These intruders are definitely dogs though," Rolly said. "And I can't imagine a pack of dogs out to get us for revenge on Cruella."

"Yeah, and all Buster's lackeys ditched him once they got the chance," Scamp pointed out.

"Besides, they never really were loyal to Buster," Angel said. "No way anyone could like him that much."

"What's the matter Rebecca?" Two-Tone asked, noticing that Rebecca's eyes had a glazed over look.

"Oh …. Nothing," Rebecca said doubtfully.

"Rebecca, it's okay, you can say what you were thinking," Lucky said gently.

"Well," Rebecca sighed, before saying, "This really is a big mess… "

"Yeah," Scamp said. "But it's nothing Jim Dear and Darling can't handle. I've made so many messes, besides, that's probably what they'd expect from a bunch of dogs left alone for days," Scamp said confidently.

However, just as he finished saying that, he looked at Angel, and to his surprise, her body was very tensed up.

"Angel? Are you okay?" Scamp asked his girlfriend. She didn't respond, however. Instead, she looked at her parents, who were anxiously muttering to each other under their breaths.

Suddenly, Scamp jolted, for something suddenly hit him. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Scamp said, "Angel, I know Jim Dear and Darling aren't gonna …"

"How do you know that?" Angel asked, alarmed.

Peg then bit her lip and said, "Dogs get thrown out for petty reasons. I can't tell you how many times I've seen some real nice folks wind up in the pound just because their pets can't understand them."

"That's actually what happened to me once," Angel explained slowly. "One of my old families had a baby. When they brought the baby home from the hospital, I wanted to meet it. I jumped in the crate once, just wanting to lick that baby's face to welcome it home … But they thought I was gonna bite the baby, and … and … "Angel stopped, shaking her head and putting her head down in sorrow as Peg gently stroked her.

"You were around when Junior was born, right Mom?" Scamp asked Lady, not taking his eyes off Angel, his eyes filled with concern. "How were they then?"

Lady then looked at Tramp, both with very queasy looks on their faces.

"You mean … Jim Dear and Darling weren't nice?" Annette cried out in disbelief.

"Well," Lady said, putting her head down, and sighing, "Jim Dear and Darling weren't at their best."

"What did they do?" Scamp asked, horrified. Lady looked at her son's plaintive expression, and wished more than anything that she could spare him from the situation. However, she knew that she had some parental responsibility to inform her children of some of the dangers and suffering that existed in the world. Knowing she would have regrets as soon as she said it, Lady sniffled and muttered, "They spanked me… and called me 'that dog'."

There was gasps as soon as she said this. It was so unlike Jim Dear and Darling, who were normally such wonderful owners, to have actually hit their dog and treat her like an object.

"Whoa …" Rolly sighed in disbelief. Looking at Perdita, Rolly asked, "Mom… Do you think Roger and Anita think of us as … as… "

"Objects?" Penny finished.

"Or that they'd hit us?" Lucky asked.

"I shouldn't think so," Perdita sighed, looking at Pongo, who nodded in agreement.

However, despite their reassuring words, the puppies couldn't help but hear a tinge of hesitation in their voices, and at once, looked at each other in horror.

"You mean… We might get kicked out?" Annette asked in shock.

"How would we able to be able to survive out there?" Rebecca said worriedly.

"Yeah, I know I couldn't, considering I've been raised by my pets all my life," XL explained.

"I think we could do it together," Patch suggested. "Scamp, Angel and I found this great place we could always use. It has plenty of shelter and there's lots of food nearby. If our pets are really thinking about kicking us out, why don't we just go live there? It's better than the pound."

"It's not that simple," Tramp said, shaking his head.

"Come on Pop," Scamp pointed out. "You were the champ of street life back in your day!"

"I know, but I couldn't," Tramp said.

"Don't say that," Scamp said encouragingly. "You'd just need a bit of practice to get …"

"It isn't even that, son," Tramp told Scamp gently. "It's just … Well, when I was on the street, I had myself and only myself to take care of. Sure, it was a thrill to pull off those escapades and feats. But I couldn't do that now. Not when I've got so many family and friends that I care about. To imagine losing any of you on the streets because of my carelessness … I almost lost Mom in more ways than one thanks to that … Is more than anything I could ever bear."

Everyone looked at Tramp understandingly. However, then Lady walked forward and said, "But none of this would ever happen. Jim Dear and Darling love us with all of their hearts. They see the best in all of us, I just know it, and I know Roger and Anita do as well…."

"But what about when she spanked you?" Scamp asked, confused.

Lady, however shook her head. "Everybody has their bad days when they say and do things they don't really mean. And yes, Jim Dear and Darling have those bad days just like everybody else. But think of all the good times we've shared with them, sitting by the fireplace as a nice big family, sharing all those walks and games and meals together ... and being petted by their warm, gentle hands. Besides, I can feel that they and Roger and Anita are all out there, yearning with all their hearts to return to us. They simply must be, for they are kindhearted people who value each and every one of us as our own unique individuals, and this is something I would assure you with my life."

It was rare for Lady to speak so intensely like this, and the others looked at her, a bit taken aback, as they saw her eyes, teary a little bit, but burning with a sort of fervency and faith keeping them thoroughly bright and filled with life, and upon hearing words, they knew that indeed she was right. "But…" Lady said, "We could do a bit to make Jim Dear and Darling happier upon getting home."

"How?" Annette asked curiously.

"We can try to restore the house to its pristine condition," Lady explained. "I know it's a lot of work, but the ten of us can manage it nicely."

Just then, Penny asked, "Can't we help?"

Lady smiled before saying, "Oh, you don't need to Penny…"

"No really," Patch said. "We wanna help out."

"It's the least we could do," Pongo explained. "We're in Jim Dear and Darling's house, and eating your dog food, so it's the least we could do to pitch in."

"Yeah, especially considering you didn't even know us," CiCi said.

Hurriedly, everyone got set to work. Patch and Penny, getting plenty of experience with dustpans following Anita's teacup breaking, reprised their work by cleaning up the remnants of the vases. Lucky, Rebecca and Two-Tone got some wet, soapy rags to clean up the muck and dirt in the carpet. XL and Cadpig meanwhile, desperately trying to hold their noses as far as the ground from possible, agreed to use the odor removal spray that Jim Dear and Darling had for housebreaking accidents on the urinated spots. Leo and CiCi stood guard over the living room's entrance, making sure that the perpetrators would not return to the scene of the crime, and Rolly stood by the refrigerator, desperate to make sure no more food could be taken.

Annette and Collette meanwhile were on top of the piano, polishing off the scratches gently with rags. The ripped blankets, with sewing too difficult for anyone in the room, but knowing that Darling could potentially salvage them with her good sewing skills, were being gathered up by Scamp, Angel, Danielle and Puffball. Meanwhile, the parents were desperately trying to find a way to repair the deep gouges in the walls. While like with the blankets, repairing the walls would prove to be an impossible task for a group of dogs, they luckily found a can of light blue paint and some sandpaper, trying to desperately smooth out the wall and give it a light coat of paint resembling the wall's elegant blue patterns, as well as using some white paint and sandpaper to smooth out the wall's bottom. This proved to be quite a task, as their adversaries had covered quite a lot of ground.

While most of them were hard at work, Tramp turned to look at the living room and noticed that Danielle and Puffball were gone again. Shaking his head, Tramp muttered to Lady and said, "Pidge, Danielle's gone again…"

"Oh dear," Lady sighed, looking concerned.

Giving a look warning Lady not to say another word, Tramp dropped his brush and approached Scamp and Angel, still picking up blanket pieces.

"Hey Whirlwind," Tramp greeted his son. "Where did Danielle and Puffball go?"

Scamp shrugged. "I think they were going to the bathroom…"

"Good one," Tramp muttered.

"Yeah, we thought it was weird too," Angel said.

"You two keep it up with the blankets," Tramp said encouragingly. "I'll make sure Danielle and Puffball are keeping out of trouble."

And without another word, Tramp made his way through the living room. His tactics of stealth he learned in the streets all that time ago still as sharp as ever, Tramp silently crept through the hallways, trying to make out the smell of his most rambunctious daughter. Before long, Tramp heard a couple voices, and peering around the corner, Tramp saw that Danielle and Puffball were sitting right outside the bathroom. Sitting silently, Tramp tried to take in all the words he could.

"You're sure it's them?" Danielle asked tensely.

Puffball nodded, his eyes wide with fear. "Yes, and there's nothing we can do about it. We're through."

"But… we've got so many of us! They wouldn't possibly try fighting us…"

Puffball sighed, however. "They gave us the mark. And that means that they're far from finished."


	21. Chapter 21

Hi! Welcome back! Sorry for the long wait... All I can say is I have been extremely busy as of late, and have hardly had the energy for writing. But at last, here is another chapter ready to go. My summer vacation has just started, and while I still am very busy, I'll hopefully get some more spare time for writing. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their universes belong to Disney. CiCi, XL, and Leo belong to XLR8 the Fox. Thank you for XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for all your reviews and comments.

Chapter 21 - Unlikely Refuge

Wondering what Danielle and Puffball could possibly be talking about, Tramp listened with baited breath, wondering what would possibly be said next. Any second now could be the one where he'd finally get to bottom of all of this and figure out what's going on. However, the words he heard next were the last he expected.

"Hey!" Danielle shouted. "There's a lot of snow gone!"

Instinctively, Tramp stealthily retreated back to the living room. Having eavesdropped on plenty of conversations, Tramp knew that there was nothing more to gain from eavesdropping and every risk of being potentially caught. Just as he arrived though, everyone else had begun to congregate near the front door and murmured fiercely. Looking outside, they saw that while there was still some snow littering the backyard, it was hardly all-encompassing.

"Why's the snow gone?" Rolly asked.

"It may be the changing of the seasons," Perdita suggested softly.

"But not only that," Angel pointed out. "Maybe it was the fire that did it! Maybe the heat the fire had was enough to help melt some of the snow away."

"Yeah, plus, a little bit more sun could make all the difference," Pongo said. "No matter what, it's good for us."

"Yeah!" Scamp exclaimed. "I was getting real tired of that stuff...and I can't wait to go outside!"

Just then however, they heard some rapping at the front door. Everybody froze, looking at the door in shock.

"Could it really be ... Our pets?" Penny asked, looking at her parents with pleading expressions.

"I ... don't know," Pongo said cautiously.

"Who could possibly be using the front door besides them?" Annette said.

"Yeah, it can't be the bad guys, they always try sneaking in," Patch reasoned.

Before anyone could say another word though, they noticed the dog door was moving a bit. A soft groan echoed from everyone, realizing that it was not any of their pets who could be trying to enter through the dog door. Then upon looking closer, they saw that a long, black paw was sticking through the door. But what was weirdest was that there was something oddly familiar about that paw.

"Is that ... Who I think it is?" Danielle asked Lady, who looked thoughtfully at the paw moving forward.

However, another long black paw pushed through the door in that moment, and after that, a long, tan, svelte cat came in, with a long black tail, and big, eerie blue eyes. The cat smiled sneakily as everyone stared it. As little sense as it made, there could be no mistaking who that was ... Or rather, who they were ...

"You!" Collette gasped in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't help but make a suspenseful entrance," the Siamese cat said slyly. "And in case you couldn't tell, which I'm pretty sure you canines would have difficulty doing, I am Si." At that moment, the door opened, and her sister slunk inside. "And this is Am."

"What are you gonna do this time?" Scamp asked. "You better not mess with us?"

"Why would we want to rough it with you dogs?" Si purred smoothly. "Forgive me, but chasing bones is hardly a pleasure for us."

"You know what we mean!" Lucky said. "You better not steal anything else!"

"Yeah, like Darling's china!" Angel exclaimed.

However, at that moment, Si and Am looked at each other. Apart from looking, talking, and acting almost identically, Si and Am also seemed to have an uncanny ability to read each other's minds. Leo, being a cat, also noticed how their body language changed, as their erect, mischievous posture had slowly begun to sink, and that was not all that changed. Far from their usual mischievous, troublemaking expressions, Si and Am's expressions looked almost hopeless, and strangely sad looking. At last, Si walked forward, not in her usual slink, but with a distracted waddle, and to everyone's shock, she opened her paw up to reveal Darling's china. "We have no use for this anymore," she said dejectedly, and pushed it over to the dogs.

Stunned silence rang through the room as everyone started bewilderedly at Si and Am, both of whose expressions were blank and unenthusiastic. "Are you … all right?" Lady asked nervously. Despite her animosities with them, she couldn't but help to feel concerned about them.

"No," Si explained simply, looking at Am, who sighed,

"Can you tell us what's wrong?" Pongo suggested.

"No, you're clueless dogs and wouldn't understand," Am said.

Trying to keep her voice open and to ignore the barb, Perdita said, "If you tell us, maybe we can help you."

The others watched, expecting Si or Am to come up with a nasty retort. But instead, Am sighed, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to admit it ... Our mistress … was kidnapped."

Everyone stared at the Siamese cats in stunned silence, only realizing then that the Siamese cats, like themselves, had their pets too. It never occurred to them, considering how difficult they were to deal with, that the Siamese cats had pets they deeply cared about as well. But seeing them like this, so scared and out of sorts, especially considering how they all had been without their pets for so long, made all the dogs deeply sympathetic. "Who kidnapped her?" Peg asked slowly.

"A bunch of ragtag, filthy dogs," Si explained. "With a stench that could span for miles. Even worse than you guys, we mean."

"Hey!" Lucky cried out. "You guys smell more I bet!"

"Obviously," Annette laughed derisively. "You cats never have once taken a bath."

"Please, stop this fighting!" Leo exclaimed seriously. At once, everyone paused and looked at Leo. It just occurred to them that he was a cat too, and thus he might have better luck dealing with Si and Am. And indeed, just the act of seeing another cat instantly seemed to change Si and Am's behavior. Their body language instantly began to change to the respect they could only give another cat, as they nodded politely and looked intently at him. "We would all like to know a few things," Leo said cautiously.

"Yes, and we would like your help," Am muttered so softly that no one could hear her.

"Could you say that again?" Leo asked.

"We would like your help," Am muttered.

"And the help of ... all those dogs," Si said, irritated with the mere suggestion.

Scamp couldn't help but to start snickering. "Wow, this is something," Scamp chuckled. "Cats asking help from dogs!"

"Do not rub it in!" Am said angrily. "Or I will scratch you on the nose!"

"Stop fighting!" Leo said again, before he turned to Si and Am. "Let's try starting over. But before we do this, stop acting condescending to all the dogs here. Remembering that they're allowing you in their home, and if you want their help, you better start treating them more civilly."

Reluctantly, Si and Am looked at each other. Then Am sighed, "Okay, fine..." The dogs looked at each other, both impressed at how well Leo could handle the Siamese cats yet also scared about what was bothering the Siamese cats so much to the point where they would back down to get cooperation.

"Now then," Leo said in a businesslike way. "What is it that you need our help in?"

"We might as well just tell you the whole story," Am said, and at once, she gave a heavy, dejected sigh.

"It all started a few cold days ago … Our mistress was inside with us by the fireplace… We were enjoying a nice long slumber … Until they came in," Si said angrily.

Seeing everyone's questioning eyes, Am continued, "A pack of dirty, ragtag, fleabitten dogs," Am said disdainfully. Quickly clarifying herself, she explained, "Not housedogs like all of you. Wild dogs. A whole horde of them. It all happened so fast, but at once they jumped through the window and sprang an attack on us."

"A couple each pinned us down in a matter of seconds," Si said angrily. "We tried to escape, but they placed their brutish paws on our necks and we felt their ominous putrid breath on our faces. Naturally of course, our mistress tried fighting them off. She got a broom to tried to whack them away, but unfortunately, they chewed that up. Then she tried to call the pound, but the dogs chewed the phone wire up before she could get there. Before she knew it, she was cornered by this pack of brutes and... they knocked her out, left the house, carrying her with them."

"The dogs holding us down then released us. One of them mangy brutes then said they'd free our mistress if we would go ahead and steal property from … You guys," Si said, as everyone looked at each other in confused horrors.

"But why?" Lady asked confusedly.

"We didn't know why, and we didn't care. All we wanted was to get our mistress back. So that is why we did what we did … But it was foolish. By the time we got back, they were gone and not once had they came back, so we knew then that we were tricked ... As embarrassing as it is to admit it..."

Am looked at them, her angular eyes wearing an almost pleading tone in them. "Where are your pets?"

"We don't know," Lady said. "They are gone too …"

"Well, you've got to help us rescue our …"

However, Am was cut off as they heard another frantic rustle of paws up the front door. Turning, they saw that a small puppy had slipped in through the door, panting and thoroughly out breath. She was a shade of medium brown, with darker, long ears, a cream belly, muzzle, paws, a big purple bow collar, and a plumy tail both medium brown and cream. "Oh my … I can't believe it's safe here!"

"Hey! I've seen you walking around town," Scamp exclaimed.

"Yes," the dog said. "My name is Katie … I'm sorry to intrude and to bother you but … Just well … Can I stay here for a bit?"

"Well, I guess..." Pongo said confusedly. "But we're all alone without our pets and we don't have much food left."

"That's okay, I don't need much," Katie said. "I just want to be safe."

"Why are you worried about being safe?" Collette said. "You have nice pets.."

But just as she said that, a few tears fell from Katie's eyes. "I don't know if I have them anymore."

"Where are your pets?" Patch asked curiously.

"Gone... They were kidnapped... By a pack of strays ... And now they're after me too," Katie said tensely.

At once, everyone looked at each other in astonishment, before turning to look at Si and Am, who both wore very ominous expressions. "I think those might be the same fleabrained dogs…" as Am hissed in agreement.

Suddenly, Am asked a question. "Did those dogs leave any marks in your house?"

"Yes, actually," Penny said tensely.

And at once, everyone looked at one of the chewed up corners of wall a few yards away. Crowding around it, they then also found the peculiar symbol that was left behind as well. Upon looking at it, Katie gasped and recoiled, "That's the mark …. It's been in houses all over town …. All the houses they've hit … The houses where they've taken pets from…"

With these words, a wave of fear and dread drenched over them, stinging their every bone at the implications of what this might mean. "You mean…." Tramp asked slowly.

"Our pets…." Pongo continued.

"Could be kidnapped?" Perdita finished in horror.

Everyone looked at Katie, who closed her eyes, before she said, "I think … they might be… Mine were…"

There was a profound silence, as the impending horror of what exactly was going on sweeping over them. At last, Angel broke the silence, standing up determinedly with her chest puffed out in a determined rage. "I already lost five families ..." she growled, "and I'm not gonna lose the best owners I've ever had!"

"Yeah, that's for sure," Peg piped up. "Adopting Spunky, Angel, Tramp, Puffball, and myself... They're the best pets anyone can ask for."

"Plus our pets adopted to Two-Tone and the other pet shop puppies, " Lucky pointed out.

"And how they sensed I wanted to be here ... to see you, Lucky," Two-Tone muttered shyly, blushing a little bit.

"Yeah, and they stand up for us no matter what!" Rolly pointed out. "Remember how Roger and Anita refused to sell the farm?"

"And how they pay attention to us each as special individuals?" Patch added.

"And how hard they work to keep our coats clean," Collette added,

"Plus how much fun they want us to have!" Danielle declared.

"They really are something," Tramp said. "I never thought any pets would be this great."

"You cannot get any more perfect than them," Lady sighed. "And I want to make sure that we will have plenty of great memories with them."

"Yeah, I wanna tell those guys not to mess with our pets!" Scamp shouted angrily. "Let's get going, right now!"

However, just as Scamp said that, a series of rapid, high-pitched, frantic, and scared barks rang from somewhere down the street.

"Did you hear that?" Patch asked tensely, as everyone else nodded.

"XL!" Collette gasped. "Where are you going?

But without another word, XL leaped through the dog door, with only one thing on his mind as he charged down the steps.

 **"Katie" is the girl puppy seen in the Welcome Home sequence in Lady and the Tramp II. I wanted to give this role to an actual character from the universe.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello, and at last, I am happy to say that after a long wait, this story is finally back! First of all, where have I been? Truth be told, I suffered a severe case of writer's block, all the worsened by my lack of time and energy. There were days where I tried to start and just couldn't do anymore, and there were times when I was ready to throw in the towel. I can't thank my good friend XLR8 the Fox enough, for without his help and encouragement, the next chapter of this fanfic may never have existed. He helped get this fanfic get back on its feet by co-authoring the first part of this chapter with me, including three key antagonists we'll meet soon, which he gave me the basic ideas for and I helped to develop further. Anyways, I am finally back, and am here to continue with this story! Please review and enjoy!**

Chapter 22 – Four Ferocious Fiends

With one swing of the dog door, the dogs and Leo felt a chill blow through the room as their fox companion had left their room for a destination unknown. But there was hardly time to consider this, for at that moment, CiCi hurled herself from a few yards away straight at the dog door. Landing right on target, she tried pushing herself out as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, her size, being the largest of the whole group of dogs, was proving to be a major impediment, for she was in such a haste that she didn't tuck any of her body in on time, causing her to get stuck, with her front half desperately trying to pull herself out and her back side stubbornly flailed as her body refused to budge. "Ughhh!" CiCi shouted in frustration.

"I'm coming CiCi!" Leo shouted, and he rushed over to CiCi, pushing her sides in to allow her to compress through the door and make it outside.

Leo was about to follow, but Tramp moved over and shouted, "Hold on!"

CiCi and Leo stopped on the doorstep as Tramp explained, "No offense, but you guys don't know these streets like I do, so I'm coming to help."

"Me too!" Scamp exclaimed as he confidently walked beside his father. "You'll need backup in case those dogs come after you."

Leo eyed him concernedly. "Are you sure? This could be dangerous."

Scamp smirked. "Please, we faced Cruella, her goons, and Buster, and I'm sure we'll get through as a big team," as the rest of the group agreed.

Lady however paused, "Who'd watch over Junior though? We can't leave him unprotected."

"I'll do it," Spunky agreed. "I've got some moves at the ready, so those dogs will be sorry if they try to cross me!"

"And I'm getting real good at using psychotherapy to ease Junior's mental anguish," Cadpig said happily.

"And I think he needs someone to keep him warm," Rolly said. "And I'm good for that job!"

Annette, Rebecca and Two-Tone then walked over to them as well. "We'll be chatting with Katie about these mysterious events," Rebecca said as Katie nodded. "And we'll also be sure to let the others upstairs know if some intruders come."

"Yeah, and make sure no one else does anything they shouldn't," Annette muttered, casting a covert glance towards Si and Am, who were in the midst of whispering to each other.

"I think Junior's in good paws now," Pongo said confidently, and Lady nodded in agreement.

"Good luck!" Spunky said as he, Rolly and Cadpig went upstairs to watch Junior, while Annette, Katie, Rebecca and Two-Tone sat on the stairs to talk, keeping an eye and ear on the downstairs to ensure there would be no trouble.

"We're ready," Tramp said to CiCi and Leo determinedly as one by one, he, Lady, Pongo, Perdita, Peg, Scamp, Angel, Patch, Penny, Lucky, Collette, Danielle and Puffball filed out through the dog door and tore down the street as far as their legs could carry them.

A few blocks away, XL was tearing down road after road. He didn't care that it was still blisteringly cold outside, especially far away from Jim Dear and Darling's warm fireplace, for all that he wanted was to find his housemate, who, despite their biological differences, was like a brother to him. "Scavenger!" XL cried out, desperately trying to catch his breath after all that running. However, between the dark, ominous clouds obscuring every ray of light, the roaring of the wind, and the stifling in scents that the wind brought about, that there was no way for XL to track him down.

It was then, as XL looked around him, he realized how eerily silent everything was. Though some lights remained on, there was not a single living soul in sight. Trying to convince himself at first it was just due to the cold temperature, he quickly realized that even the coldest temperatures wouldn't be able to make the streets this desolate. Wondering if he should have waited for help, XL backed away to the side of the road, where a small row of evergreen bushes lay. Then to his astonishment, the bushes began to rattle. Nervously, XL arched his back, preparing for whatever could be coming out of the bushes in this hostile environment. As he stood there expectantly, he saw a head poke out of the bushes. "XL? Is that you?"

XL turned, and at once, his eyes lit up, hardly daring to believe it. "Scavenger?" he asked.

"Yeah," Scavenger said. "Come here."

XL obliged, and followed Scavenger into the bushes. "It's great to see you!" XL exclaimed.

"You too," Scavenger smiled.

"The vet got the bone out?" XL asked.

"Yeah, just in time," Scavenger said. "Before they came."

"Who?" XL asked, dreading he knew at least part of the answer.

"A pack of scary dogs," Scavenger said worriedly. "I just had the operation, and the vet was wheeling me out. Then they ambushed us from all sides, grabbed the vet, and dragged her away. She never came back," Scavenger said worriedly. "I made a break for it just in time to survive … but they're still after me and …"

"Where are our pets?" XL asked nervously.

Scavenger gulped before saying, "I don't know … But I could hear their voices in the building…"

XL bristled, "They're trapped," he whispered, horrified.

"We've got to rescue them," Scavenger said, "But what can we do?"

But before XL could answer, Scavenger took a whiff, and once, took in a faint whiff of many odors, none of which were very pleasant …

"It's them!" Scavenger whispered, fear dilating his eyes. "They're getting closer! And they're real fast and can sniff us out!"

Frantically, XL looked around, before seeing a barren red maple tree by their side. "Up here," he said. XL and Scavenger frantically pawed up the tree, wishing all the while that Leo was there to help them out. Eventually, the two made it to the lowest branch, just as the dirty smells odors began to reach a suffocating point. Like helpless kittens surrounded by a firestorm, the two sat high up in the tree, hardly daring to breathe. Then below, they saw four dogs strutting up the hill.

"That's them," Scavenger whispered. "The pack leaders."

Observing them as he sat stuck in the branches, XL saw that all four of the dogs had wildly unkempt and greasy fur, coated with dirt, along with mouths locked in an expression of intense ferocity, complete with long, piercing, yellowing fangs. Across their bodies, they were covered with layers upon layers of battle scars, and on each of their paws was a set of sickle-like sharp claws, coated with a tinge of red that looked sickeningly like blood. Leading them was a tall, confidently postured boxer, scanning side to side determinedly, his eyes being visible only as narrow slits. The other three dogs ravenously tagged slightly behind their leader. One was a dark grey bulldog, but while most bulldogs were short, squat, and often pudgy, this bulldog's fat was scarce, legs were tall and thick, and seemed to be entirely composed of large, bulging muscles. Then there was a dark brown Chesapeake retriever, with a highly tangled, oily coat and a twinkle of malice in her dark eyes to go along with a vicious smirk. Finally, there was a Jack Russell terrier, who despite being far smaller than the other three dogs, was more than able to keep up, gazing at everything with intense eyes, and panting so excitedly that his whole body was jittering.

"You sure you smelled that varmint, Casey?" said the boxer to the Jack Russell terrier.

"Yeah yeah yeah, he's here, he's here!" Casey exclaimed, panting rapidly, his tail and paws constantly and hyperactively moving about, and at once, XL and Scavenger stared at each other wide-eyed.

"Ya sure he hasn't gone crazy, Bruce?" the bulldog irritably snapped to the boxer as Casey continued to fidget, sniff, and pant excitedly.

Bruce, however, stood calmly and confidently. "Be patient Joe, we should never underestimate our comrade. After all, he managed to track down those ex-junkyard dogs, right?" he said as a broad smirk grew on the retriever's face.

"I still can't get over how we totally beat up that stupid sheepdog!" the retriever said, her eyes twinkling in ecstasy. "Just like taking kibble from a puppy, and all that fear in his eyes … Too easy!"

"Yes, that was bliss, Harley," Bruce smirked to the retriever as the others sniggered in malicious delight as XL and Scavenger looked at each other uneasily. However, just then, Scavenger's foot slipped, causing a small branch to hit the ground.

Looking at each other in horror, XL and Scavenger froze as the four dogs all turned their attention on the branch and closed in around our tree. "Look like we found our escapee," Bruce said, smiling as he licked his lips.

"Hide me," XL said.

"Huh?" Scavenger asked.

"I've got a plan," XL said. "You distract them!"

"Right," Scavenger said. Blocking XL from sight, Scavenger stood up on the tree branch in plain sight, whimpering as the four dogs watched him hungrily.

"The game is over, runt," Bruce said coolly. "We can do it the easy way or the hard way, but we're not moving till you surrender."

"Yeah," Joe snapped. "Don't try anything fancy, or I'll just strangle you even harder."

"Come down little mouse," Harley simpered mockingly. "We've got just the treat ready for you!"

Casey then shouted, "I'm sick of waiting!" and leaped onto the tree, panting in a hyperactive, menacing way as he sunk his claws into the bark, drawing higher and higher up the tree

But at that moment, XL leaped right onto Casey's head, causing the terrier to lose his balance and fall to the group with a thud. In the commotion, Scavenger followed suit, leaping down to Casey's now vacant spot and the two of them took off as fast as they could.

"After them!" Bruce shouted, and the four wild dogs followed in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was searching for XL down the streets and alleys of town. CiCi was sniffing the ground determinedly, trying her hardest to catch XL's scent on the ground. She was guarded by Tramp and Peg, standing on either side of her to both protect her and allow her to keep searching, as well as to help her navigate in case she got lost. Leo also stood on top of CiCi, looking out to see if there was anything coming from a farther distance. The puppies, had meanwhile split into pairs; Angel with Scamp, Puffball with Danielle, Lucky with Patch, and Penny with Collette, the former of each pair looking into hiding places where XL or Scavenger may be hiding, while the latter stood guard to protect the searcher from danger. At the back of the group, Lady, Pongo, and Perdita stood, making sure each pair of puppies didn't stray too far from the group, while looking behind them to watch for aggressors from behind.

One dog was too preoccupied however to only focus on her task. While watching Penny sniff out a trash can, Collette kept an eye on her alarmingly secretive sister, frowning as she noticed that once again, Danielle and Puffball were whispering to each other. As she continued to watch them, she couldn't help but notice how Puffball's eyes have dilated with fear ever since they went outside, and how often Danielle was prodding his long, silky ears in an attempt to comfort him. Seeing her sister prod her boyfriend's ears like that made her wish someone was petting her ears, and hoping against hope that someone so special to her would be all right…

"Are you all right, Collette?" Penny asked as she stuck her head out of the trash can and noticed how crestfallen Collette looked.

Collette sighed. "I'd feel a lot better if XL was safe."

"Aha!" Danielle exclaimed triumphantly, her eyes alive. "You do care for him!"

"Well, yes, as a friend, but…" Collette began as Danielle approached her.

"Fess up," Danielle said excitedly. "You like him!"

"I…. I… I guess," Collette said with a sigh. "Not that it matters now… Not when he won't come back …"

Lady however, walked forward and placed her paw around Collette, giving her a big hug. "Don't worry my darling," Lady said reassuringly. "He'll come back. I know he will."

"Thanks Mom," Collette smiled as Danielle gave her sister a reassuring rub.

The group then rounded another corner. "I don't understand, why would these dogs want to kidnap housedogs and their pets?" Perdita asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, they must have some motivation. Even Cruella did, as twisted as it was," Pongo said, shaking his head.

"Maybe they're jealous," Scamp said. "You know, because we have a home and they don't?"

The others pondered the idea for a second, but were interrupted as Leo suddenly twitched his ears. "I hear something," he said. "It sounds like running."

As he leaned in closer and the others stopped what they were doing and listened in, CiCi suddenly exclaimed, "I smell …. XL's coming! And Scavenger's too! But …" Taking in a whiff, her nose shriveled in disgust. "I smell wild dogs!"

"They must be chasing them!" Lucky exclaimed. "We've got to stop them."

"Yeah! Let's show them they can't hurt our friends," Scamp said determinedly, as the other puppies all nodded, except for Danielle and Puffball. Upon feeling the expectant looks of the other puppies, Puffball then sighed, and said, "I guess Scavenger's innocent after all … If they're chasing him …"

"Yeah," Danielle said, nodding. "And he could've joined up with the wild dog if he was bad."

Collette beamed at her sister and boyfriend for finally giving Scavenger a chance, as she said, "Let's go help them!"

Giving the parents a reassuring look, the eight puppies split off into two groups and crouched down on the snow-covered grassy areas separating the street from the sidewalk, with Scamp, Angel, Patch and Lucky on one side while Collette, Penny, Danielle and Puffball were on the other. Looking ahead as they kept their heads low, they saw that XL and a Dalmatian puppy that they knew must be Scavenger were being chased by a pack of four street dogs. Looking at each other, they knew what they had to do and braced themselves for it.

XL and Scavenger, running up the hilly street, had begun to lose their breath from all of the running they've been doing and panted exhaustedly as the stench of hot, stinky breath of wild dog enveloped them, accompanied by low, deep growls and gnashing of teeth as their pursuers drew nearer and nearer.

"Just give up already," Joe jeered as he snapped at Scavenger's tail.

Scavenger and XL continued to run, but with a deep breath, Casey zoomed and stood menacingly, forcing XL and Scavenger to a halt as the other wild dogs closed in.

"Surrender now, housepets," Bruce said, lifting his paw up in threatening triumph.

"You two are kibble," Harley smirked, her eyes twinkling excitedly.

"I wanna get their necks! And now!" Casey jumped up and down impatiently.

"Fine, since you tracked down and outran them, you can lay your paws on them first," Bruce said as Joe and Harley groaned.

"But … boss!" Harley snapped, but Bruce cut her off. "Don't worry Harley. You'll get plenty of housedogs to shred later."

"Yay!" Casey said, jumping up and down, before lifting a dangerously clawed paw. "Here goes!"

But before he could strike, he felt himself headbutted and pushed aside as Penny rammed into him and to his horror, pinned him to the ground, while in that same instant, Collette bit onto XL's collar to get his attention, beckoning Scavenger to follow.

"Oh no you don't," Joe smirked as he pressed a giant paw down on Collette's ear, only for XL to scratch his nose, causing Joe to howl in pain and rage and let go of Collette.

"You're gonna get it brats!" Casey exclaimed as he wriggled free from Penny's grip and prepared to strike her. But at that moment, Scamp and Angel leapt out at Bruce, and with all their might, succeeded in tackling him to the ground.

"Boss!" Joe shouted, but at that point, Lucky and Patch grabbed onto him, barring his movements, Danielle and Puffball took on Harley, and Penny held off Casey as Collette led XL and Scavenger back to the adults. "Thanks XL," Collette said sweetly. "For saving my life." And before he could react, Collette leaned over and kissed XL's cheek just as they reached the adults.

"Huh … Wha …" XL stammered as Collette just smiled at him.

Seeing that XL, Collette and Scavenger got to their parents, the other puppies caught each other's eyes and at once, hurled themselves off the enraged street dogs and ran behind the adults. As the wild dogs approached, Lady, Tramp, Pongo, Perdita, Peg and CiCi formed a protective circle around the puppies as the wild dogs paced around them, their teeth bared.

"Well lookey here, it's the Snob Hill cuddle crew," Bruce sneered as the others smirked.

"Didn't expect you'd dare to get down and dirty with us," Harley added.

"Of course, who else would make such a stupid mistake like that?" Joe put in. "You're on our turf now."

"Can we get 'em now? Now? Now?" Casey asked irritably.

"Relax," Bruce said. "We must savor our triumph as we slowly dispose of these chew toys, one by one," he said, licking his lips, as the adults crowded even more tightly their puppies, as puppies and adults growled intimidatingly.

"Not very friendly," Joe snorted. "You ought to know the names of those who will stop your pathetic hearts. The name's Joe," he leered.

"Harley," she grinned.

"Casey, and can we get on with it already?" he asked.

"Bruce," he said.

"Please," Perdita asked. "We don't any trouble."

"We just want to find our pets … Couldn't you let us …" CiCi began, but she was drowned out by the snickers of the wild dogs.

"Aww, how cute!" Harley jeered. "They think they can talk themselves out!"

"Let's just show them how stupid that is," Joe said, letting out a long, spine-tingling low howl. At once, the sound of scampering footsteps approached, as they looked around in horror, the family of dogs saw that joining the fray from all directions were a horde of giant mastiff-like dogs, with thick, muscular legs, deep, sunken eyes, and wide, enormous skulls that alone were the size of puppies, with large, dagger-like fangs protruding from their mouths, which seemed to be locked in a perpetual snarl.

"Right, now that we've cleared that up," Bruce said coolly, but Pongo interrupted. "Why are you doing this?" he said as the giant dogs encircling them deeply growled.

"Let's just say," Bruce answered, "That we despise humans and anyone who aligns with them."

Joe chuckled. "You are the problem, the oppressive regime that keeps us real dogs down in society … That of humans, and of course, their blindly loyal followers, the housedogs."

"What's wrong with being loyal to our pets?" Patch shouted. "Our pets are great!"

"Yeah," Collette agreed. "Housedogs and pets are always there for each other, and the warm, loving relationship between us housedogs and our pets is one that benefits all of us."

"What have we done to you, anyway? All we want is to have our loved ones back with us," Lady said earnestly.

Casey however, pointed into the group. "Well, for starters, there's a lot of traitors in your bunch!"

"I'll say," Bruce added. "First there's the infamous Tramp, top streetdog who threw it all away, along with several pipsqueaks who carry his blood in their veins."

"Then we have the little blonde brat," Harley said, pointing angrily at Angel. "Wooing a whole pack off the streets, including her little boy toy, and of course, her treacherous parents, who were always just as soft as housedogs."

"And then there's little Puffball!" Casey grinned tauntingly. "Wilder sure wants to see you again. Boy, he sure was mad when he found out when you turned traitor, and who knows what he's gonna…"

Seeing her boyfriend tremble a bit, Danielle had enough. "Shut it, ya jerk," Danielle shouted, reaching through the gaps between her parents as she held her paw threateningly to Casey's nose.

"Watch your mouth, house pet," Casey growled as he lunged forward and chomped at Danielle's paw, causing her to shriek in pain as Puffball hurriedly tugged Danielle's tail loose out of the snarling terrier's mouth.

"That's it. No one's hurting my family," Tramp snarled, taking a step forward, but at once, the horde of giant dogs surrounding them begin to rumble menacingly.

"Wait!" Lady exclaimed plaintively. "Perhaps … they don't understand our point of view very well."

"Oh, tell us more," Joe said in mock excitement.

"This will be fascinating," Harley yawned.

"Well," Lady said tentatively, unsure how to approach the hostile dogs. "I have learned a lot in life … About how many dogs were not born into as wonderful situations as I was …. I didn't really understand as a puppy. The only other dogs I knew were my good friends Jock and Trusty … " but at that point, Lady trailed off, for the wild dogs got a flicker of excitement in their eyes.

"Both captured!" Casey exclaimed, jumping up and down as the others smirked.

At once, Lady's eyes widened in horror as she asked, "You … you attacked them?"

"Sure, it was a breeze," Joe said carelessly.

"Where are they?" Lady asked, hoping upon hope that somehow they would be okay.

"Why should we tell you that?" Bruce asked.

Trembling, Lady recoiled, her head spinning traumatically, the knowledge that her oldest and wisest friends were undoubtedly in peril settling in. Noticing Lady's condition, Perdita stepped forward, shielding Lady from the jeering eyes of the wild dogs, and as calmly as she could, said, "Like Lady, Pongo and I both were unaware of the plight that so many dogs faced …"

"That was, until we found an old schoolmate of our pets was killing puppies," Pongo said. "Including 84 puppies without owners. Seeing the ordeal they have gone through, we opened our hearts and homes to these puppies, giving us the name of the 101 Dalmatians."

"102," Scavenger muttered. As everyone looked at him in confusion, especially Lucky, Penny, Patch. The three puppies kept looking at him in shock before saying, "You … have Tripod back in your house in London, right? He's my littermate…"

Penny, Patch and Lucky kept looking at him in shock, before their thoughts were loudly interrupted by Joe's snort. "Whatever, too many of you for my taste."

"Look guys, I know life on the street can be fun and exciting, but it's not everything," Tramp said wisely. "I thought that's how it was, but when I met Pidge, my life changed, all for the better," he said. "She showed me how much it means to love and to be loved, which I never really felt before."

Angel then said, "I've been through a bunch of families and life on the streets, and I'd take life in a home any day. I know it seems impossible you can ever get that nice family, but they're out there. You've just got to find them."

Peg nodded and said, "Angel's right, guys. I've been through the mill in life and love, but if you're willing to give it a chance, you can find whatever you're looking for. And I'm sure Spunky would say the same."

"Y….yeah," Puffball stuttered nervously. "Don't … dismiss … All the good that's …" he said, before losing his voice as Danielle nodded at him encouragingly and reassuringly.

"So I guess what we're saying," Lady said, looking at them earnestly, "Is to not give up, give house life a chance, or at the very least, just at least respect that some of us want to live that life and not to take it away from us who desire it."

The wild dogs looked at each other in silence, before they erupted in a fit of raucous, ferocious laughter, echoed by the circle of dogs surrounding them. "Housedogs," Joe snorted out. "Completely stupid, as usual. You snobs and your humans don't respect us, always impounding us or worse, and not allowing us to live life as a real dog."

"The point of the pound is not to kill dogs though," Collette piped up. "It's to help them find loving homes to live in."

"Yeah, besides, you guys aren't real dogs, either," Lucky said daringly. "A dog's best friend is their human, and without them …"

"What, you wouldn't get your daily snuggles?" Harley leered as Casey jumped up and down in mock helplessness, saying, "Human, pet me! Human, my fur's not lying flat! Human, my collar's dirty!"

"You're all hopelessly out of touch, including you, traitors," Joe sneered, glaring at Tramp, Angel, Peg, and Puffball, while the others, Lady, Scamp, and Danielle in particular, began to growl. "We already knew all your lame stories."

"Yeah, do you really think we'd take after a faded old-timer, a washed-up singer, a repeat reject, a hobbling cripple, and a pathetic runt, all of whom are traitors to boot?" Harley sneered, as all of the dogs felt their blood boil as they snarled in rage at the attacks on their loved ones.

"You think we're just sorry simps like your traitor pals? Then let me correct your faulty assumptions," Bruce said confidently. "The four of us were all born in captivity … To insipid, foolish parents from what humans call "pedigreed" lines, always seeking to please and attach themselves to their pets, and who in turn wanted us, their puppies, to do the same. However, we knew better, and dared to challenge their boundaries like none of our littermates ever did…"

"I dug up my human's entire flower garden and pooped all over their lawn! Then I chased their cats out of the house and the neighbor's shih tzu, never to return again!" Casey recalled, jumping with excitement at the very reminiscence.

"I attacked the family baby," Harley purred, licking her lips. "And the children as well, pretending to be merely playing the whole time … Until I punctured the baby's skin and sent it to the hospital."

"I broke down all their appliances, building up my muscles in the process," Joe stated proudly, flexing his muscular front paw up and down to emphasize the point. "I smashed down the refrigerator, raided all its loot, and tore up their bed to tatters."

"And I asserted my natural leadership over my weak littermates," Bruce said, smirking. "With my superior strength, and by using force and death threats when needed, I made them to do my bidding. I got them to do all kinds of stuff, like break down fences, raid neighbor's houses, and even attack the neighborhood housedogs…"

The wild dogs all beamed as they reflected upon their memories, while the housedogs all looked at them with expressions of shock and disgust. Smirking, Bruce continued, "Of course, we all got punished from our parents, you know, the usual grounding and chaining and stuff. But that only fueled our ambitions further. Our families did not earn our respect, and we knew there was only one thing to do … We had to show our parents who was boss," Bruce said delightedly as the other three dogs licked their lips.

"I struck my parents' noses," Casey said, excitedly panting.

"I slashed my parents in their sleep," Harley beamed.

"I slammed them, breaking their bones," Joe said intimidatingly.

"Let's just say … My parents never said my name again afterward," Bruce said eerily. "We then met up, and formed an unstoppable pack, gathering new followers with each success, and we've freed oppressed housedogs and captured any dogs that dared to resist us, as well as all of the pets in every home … We're known as the Canine Liberation Force's Household Hellmakers. And you think some pretty words and sappy stories will get us to relinquish our power? Think again!" Bruce exclaimed, as he, Casey, Joe and Harley all menacingly laughed, echoed by the circle of dogs in the background.

Looking at each other in horror, the adult dogs felt their protective circle shrink as the four wild dogs continued to draw in upon their space, their hot, malicious, excited breaths smothering them like toxic fumes upon them and the puppies. As their circle got smaller and smaller, they began to feel the circle of dogs in the back's dirty breath on them as well, the four wild dogs had gotten within striking distance. Casey then began to excitedly pant. "Now, boss?"

"Yes," Bruce purred, and at once, he, Casey, Joe and Harley all raising their front paws, each with a full set of long, sickle-sharp claws protruding out from them, as wide, twisted smirks grew on their excited faces. "Say good-bye, house pets," he sneered, as each of them licked their lips, preparing to strike.


	23. Chapter 23

Hello, here I am with another update! Thank you to all of my readers for sticking with my story for this long, and for continuing to read this story! I want to give special thanks to Evil-Copper for all the reviews, as well as to XLR8 The Fox for helping me out with his advice and allowing me to use his OCs. Once again, if you like this story, please fave and/or review!

Chapter 24 - Showdown at the Vet

"Say goodbye," Bruce jeered as Joe, Harley and Casey all snickered, followed by an eerie echoing of their sadistic delight by the circle of giant dogs and their hot, stinky breath.

"Not so fast," Tramp growled, and in a blur, he rushed forward and rammed right into Bruce. With one paw suspended midair to strike, Bruce only had three paws on the ground, and because of this lack of balance, the force of Tramp's collision sent Bruce flying before crashing against the wall of giant dogs, who were frozen with stupefied shock as their leader fell onto the grounds.

"You're gonna get …" Casey shrieked, but before he could continue, Patch and Penny jumped on top of him, blocking his movement. Soon after, CiCi, with Leo sitting on top of her, lunged into Harley as Leo swiped at her, while Scamp and Angel began sparring with Joe, frantically trying to avoid his gigantic mouth. In the midst of the commotion, Lady, Perdita, Pongo, and Peg grabbed Collette, Puffball, Danielle, Lucky, XL and Scavenger by their collars with their mouths and hurled them high into the air. The six of them flew beyond the outer circle of giant dogs, and they all managed to land on the other side unscathed. Without a second thought, they turned right around and each jumped and latched onto one of the giant dog's tails, causing many enraged howls and confusion. Seizing the opportunity, Lady, Tramp, Pongo, Perdita, Scamp, Angel, Patch, Penny, Peg, CiCi and Leo tore through the circle of dogs ensnared in tumultuous confusion, and with adrenaline rapidly coursing through them, they got to the other side, fully out of breath.

"Run!" Pongo shouted, and within a matter of seconds, they all began to sprint as fast their bodies could carry them. They ran so fast that they didn't even fully comprehend where they were going, aimlessly racing down streets, desperately for any chance they could get to dodge their pursuers. Behind them, they could hear the hot, ragged breaths of the pack of wild dogs, flushed with venomous anger and grit, but they didn't dare to look back and face them. Fortunately, the fear the housedogs felt allowed them to run at an even faster pace than that of their pursuers tailing them, and after much aimless running, they saw a pair of doors on a street corner leading to an underground shed. Without hesitating, Leo jumped off CiCi and pulled the door open as everyone filed in. Upon entering, they realized they were in a small, empty cellar, and crouched down at its edge, desperately hoping to conceal their exhausted, heavy breathing and the stench of sweat coming from their bodies.

"Are we all here?" Lady whispered nervously, and after waiting for nobody to say otherwise, she quietly slipped the cellar door shut.

"Mom," Collette asked worriedly. "How are we going to get home?"

"Yeah, we've got to make sure the others don't get hurt," Lucky said, his heart wrenching with -agony, acutely aware that his two best friends, girlfriend, and Rebecca were still in the house. "I hope they're not going home next."

"But we've got to rescue our pets," XL said, his eyes flushed with urgency. "They are trapped at the vets."

"Maybe," Collette said uncertainly, before trailing off.

"You can spill," Danielle told her sister encouragingly.

Collette sighed, before slowly saying, "Maybe we can get your pets out of the vet and they can get us home safely."

But before anybody could respond, they heard voices outside. Angel peered through the cracks, and saw that Casey, Harley, Joe, and Bruce were trotting over, and to her horror, she saw that they sat down right by the cellar door. Frantically gesturing the others to be dead silent, they listened in, backing up to be as far away from the doors as possible.

"I can't believe those brats got away from us!" Casey howled. "We wasted too much time when we should've went straight for the kill!"

"I'll say," Harley sniffed. "I want to clobber their sorry hides once and for all!"

"Patience guys," Bruce said coolly. "We'll get them sooner or later. We've got our guards posted all over town to flush them out over to us. In the meantime, no more letups. Don't forget, these aren't just housedogs. They're the embodiment of our opposition, and we've got to remove them at all costs. Once we remove them, nothing will get in our way. Now let's go back to business."

"About time! I'm sick of this chit chat!" Casey said irritably, and the four street dogs ran off. After a long pause, Patch asked nervously, "Why are they so interested in us?"

"Maybe they've heard about all our adventures and are scared of all we've done," Scamp suggested.

Meanwhile, Collette looked at the others expectantly. "So? What do you think? Should we go to the vet and help XL's pets out?" Collette asked. The others looked at her thoughtfully.

"Yeah, we've got to get our pets away from those alley dogs. Besides, they can help us out. They have a car and hide us in the back and get us home safely without those alley dogs on our tails," CiCi said. "Besides, our pets will take us wherever," CiCi said confidently. "I'm sure they'd understand the situation if they've been captured, and they're not the type who will leave town during the middle of a crisis. Maybe they'll help us find the place."

"The question is how do we get to the vet? You've heard what they said, they've got lookouts everywhere," Leo said nervously.

"That's easy," Scamp said confidently. "All we've got to do is distract them."

"They … they're not gonna fall for anything though," Puffball said though. "They … They're only out for us."

"I think you're both right," Tramp said craftily. "It sure looks like the only thing these guys are only out to take us down. But we can use that bloodlust to our advantage if we can get them to fail to notice what we're really up to."

"Oh, I see," Angel smirked. "You mean … Some of act us as bait?"

Tramp nodded, and at once, the tension palpably increased.

"I'll take care of that," Peg said. "They know my voice, so I'll lure 'em to me with a song," she purred, batting her eyelashes coquettishly to prove her point.

"I'll let out some loud, panicky howls," CiCi said. "My parents raised us to be sled dogs, and taught us how to let out some really loud howls. I'll make it seem like we're just lost."

"They're not gonna fall for It that easy," Puffball sighed.

"But with some of us puppies, they might," Lucky said shrewdly. "They wouldn't think we'd be involved in a risky plan, so the trick would work better if some of us went along with you. They'd just think we'd be running scared."

"Yes, that way we can pretend we're lost and lead them all in the wrong direction," Penny agreed.

Looking at each other tensely, everybody knew how dangerous this idea might be, but they knew that they had to save two of their pets, no matter what the cost. Quietly, Peg and CiCi slipped over to on either side of the shed's doors, and beckoned for others to join them.

"Good luck," Collette said to XL, and without taking a glance at Danielle, she leaned in to give him a kiss. XL giggled slightly as Collette as she smiled before she turned to join Lucky and Penny to join with Peg. "I'll be fine, promise!"

"Make sure to let out a howl if you're in trouble so we can help," Penny told Patch.

"Thanks Penny," Patch smiled, as brother and sister gave each other an affectionate hug. "But we'll be fine."

Meanwhile, CiCi and Leo faced Scavenger and XL. "XL, Scavenger … I hope you get Thomas and Anna back," CiCi said, her voice tinged with excitement yet fear at the same time.

"You sure you'll be able to handle them?" Leo asked, as he, Danielle, and Puffball walked over to CiCi.

"We'll be just fine," Lady smiled, answering for them.

"We better," Scamp said, "I'm more than ready to get all of our pets back!"

"Wow, you've sure changed," Angel smirked, nuzzling Scamp affectionately.

"We'll get them back soon," Pongo promised.

Smiling, CiCi nodded understandingly. Then as silently as he could, Lucky cracked the shed door open and he, Penny, Collette and Peg jumped out, all of them with nervous but determined looks on their faces as they trotted off to the left. No one moved for a few minutes after they left, before CiCi asked, "Danielle, Puffball, Leo, ready to go?"

The three of them nodded before pushing open the door as they and CiCi left the cellar. This left Lady, Tramp, Pongo, Perdita, Scamp, Angel, Patch, XL, and Scavenger in the cellar as they waited with baited breath, hearing CiCi's group heading off in the opposite direction from Peg's.

"I hope Collette's okay," XL said worriedly.

"I'll check to see if the coast is clear," Patch said, and he scurried outside. Sitting for a few seconds and not hearing, smelling, or seeing anything, Patch was about to go back to the others, but just as he put a paw on the handle, his hairs rose as a putrid smell ominously wafted toward him. Hurriedly, he hurled himself into a small pile of snow, curled up, closed his eyes, and waited with baited breath. The smell got more and more pungent as he heard a dog racing over, yet at the same time, a similar smell occurred from the other side. He didn't dare to breathe as the two dogs got closer, still running intently before coming to an abrupt halt somewhere near him.

"What'ya going that way for? They're over that way.."

"No they're not chump. They were where you came from."

"Fine, do what you want. General Fang's just gonna make me a top dog then."

"Hmph! Yeah right!" the other one shouted, and Patch waited as he heard the two dogs taking off again. Silently, he crept back to the shed doors. No sooner had he reached them until Scamp burst out, snickering. "They fell for it!"

Looking around to make sure no one else was around, Tramp said, "Ready?"

Everyone determinedly nodded for a moment before getting out of the cellar and standing in the middle of the street. "So which way?" Scavenger asked anxiously.

"Hahaha…."

"Hah … hah…"

Frozen in their places, they turned and saw two of the enormous dogs lumbering over to them, leering at them triumphantly. "Think you were gonna trick us! Think again!"

"We knew you stupid housedogs were gonna try some cheap trick," the second one leered. "That'll get ya nowhere. We've got the rest of them all taken care of."

"You didn't hurt Collette!" XL shouted angrily.

"Of course," the dog answered maliciously. Then giving a glare to Angel, he said, "Looks like you've lost your mommy again, blondie. And we'll get your daddy real soon. Too bad you get to be an orphan again…" the dog chuckled before saying, "But we don't tolerate traitors."

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK TO ANGEL LIKE THAT!" Scamp roared, his eyes bulging widely, and at once, he leaped up at the aggressor and aimed a scratch at his nose.

"Oh yeah? Let me show you a real nasty one," the dog shouted, and at once, he lunged at Scamp with blinding speed and to everyone's horror, he clenched onto Scamp's neck with his teeth.

"How …. dare you, monster!" Lady screamed, charging at him, her entire body pulsating with rage.

"I'll take care of you too, vamp," the dog sneered at Lady, slamming her on the ground with his paw.

"You can't take on two of us at once!" Pongo shouted, and he and Perdita lunged at the other dog, the sheer force of their collisions pushing him to the ground. The first dog looked over at his fallen comrade, but in that brief moment, XL, Scavenger, and Patch jumped onto the dog's back, forcing him to the ground as Angel and Tramp freed Scamp and Lady from the dog's weakened grip. Nodding to the others, Tramp took off the other way, as the others followed as fast as they could as a few moments later, the two dogs stood and let out loud, low howls through the town.

"Please tell me we're gonna get to the vet's!" XL said.

"You bet we are," Tramp said confidently, but at that moment, Angel began to run back.

"Angel, what are you doing?" Lady asked in shock.

"Those guys said my parents are in trouble! I … I … " she began anxiously, but abruptly, Pongo raced back and restrained her by her collar.

"I know that's what it sounds like, but they're probably bluffing just to rattle us up," Pongo said. "It's too soon for them to have caught all of us."

"Besides, your parents are streetdogs too. No way they'd get caught so easily," Scamp consoled her.

Angel nodded, appreciating her boyfriend's words, and knowing that the only way to go on was to hope. Everyone kept following Tramp around as he ran around in circles.

"Is he … Ever gonna … "Scavenger panted, but XL, shushed him, and pointed out their pursuers, who were looking noticeably rundown and discouraged.

"Hey housedogs, you're lost and miles from home!" one of them shouted. "Give up now and let's get it over with."

The nine of them continued as far as they could. As they rounded another corner, Pongo suddenly got an idea, Abruptly turning, he punted a trash can straight at the oncoming pack before quickly turning back to catch up with the others. Though the alley dogs all managed to jump away from the falling trash can, the disturbance forced them to swerve them away from the can and giving them a few extra seconds. Then Tramp said, "It's just around this corner."

As they continued, they saw that Tramp was right, for right there they realized they were at the top of a steep hill and at its bottom was the small yet long vet clinic.

"Yes!" Scavenger exclaimed. "Thomas and Anna, we're coming!" and the group tore down the hill as fast as they could. Rounding the corner to the front door and seeing that it was unlocked, Pongo pulled it open, and he and the others tore inside.

The vet lobby was, just as they anticipated, completely deserted and filled with a forlorn atmosphere, and upon looking down, they saw that the place was filled with muddy pawprints on the carpets. "This way," Scavenger explained, and they followed him into a corner hallway. It was narrow, had checkered tiles, and had a large box standing at its end, and the light inside it, while on, was flickering tensely, and a buzzing sound from it whirred in the background. Following Scavenger, at last, they reached a large, thick, wooden door near the end of the hallway.

Yipping excitedly, Scavenger and XL barked for as loud as they could. At once, they heard scrambling in the room. "XL! Scavenger!" a young man's voice exclaimed.

"I can't believe you're here!" a woman's voice added. "Great to see you're safe!"

"We'd love to see you, but the door's double-locked! You can't open it from your side and we can't from ours!"

"Listen, we'll be fine. Just get away from here before they come!"

"Which is now," a voice drawled.

Turning, the group saw that the box had begun to move, and before anyone could react, the box had been thrown aside, revealing a small but long-legged, skinny grey dog with narrow bloodshot eyes, and despite his small stature, he had very long claws. "They call me Grimm," the dog said in raspy, hoarse breaths. "I must express my thanks, for without your foolish loyalty to your two-legged friends, I'd just have the boring job of watching over this place. But now … I'm on the verge of securing my legacy for the cause."

Moving forward, he said, "Oh yes … You have no idea how much glory terminating you guys will give me. Oh yes, Grimm, neglected and ignored his whole life by petty humans and housedogs alike, will earn his place in Canine Liberation Force history by removing the crown jewels of Snob Hill … Right THIS VERY MOMENT!" he shouted, and at once, he extended his long leg out and swiped at Tramp, who howled in pain and agony.

"Stop it!" Perdita responded, leaping behind him and at once, holding down his tail.

"You simpletons," Grimm drawled. "Let me show you a real trick," and with blindingly fast speed, he squirmed out of Perdita's grip, and hurled himself at the door before ricocheting off it and with the force of the swerve, sending Perdita crashing into the wall. Pongo then lunged in at Grimm, but Grimm jumped up multiple feet, causing Pongo to miss and slam right into to the floor.

"He sure is tough for being so small," Pongo commented warningly.

"You little puppies want to give it a go?" Grimm jeered to Patch, Scamp, Angel, Scavenger and XL, who instantly leapt toward him at once. However, Grimm jumped up, and struck all five of them with one swipe striking, sending them crashing onto the hard floor.

"That's enough," Tramp shouted, and he pounced at Grimm, and the two of them began to wrestle on the floor. Scamp was just about to take a few steps to help his father, when suddenly, behind Grimm's foot, he noticed something sparkly and silvery …

"Dad! I'm coming!" Scamp said angrily, charging forward.

"Son, no!" Tramp shouted as Grimm managed to land a bite on Tramp and knocked him aside, causing him to take a few steps forward. Without a second thought, Scamp pounced, seizing the key. "Catch!" he exclaimed, throwing it over, and at once, Perdita jumped up to catch the key.

"WHY YOU …" Grimm shouted in fury, but at that point, Tramp, Pongo, and Lady moved forward, blocking his path and Angel stood over Scamp, protecting him from Grimm's wrath. Perdita meanwhile, stood on her two paws, and placed the key into the door as she gave it a quick, nimble turn.

At once, the door clicked open, and turning the knob, she gasped at the sight that lay before her. Two humans, a young man with brown hair, brown eyes a red shirt, brown trousers, and black shoes, and a young woman with red hair, green eyes, a blue shirt, black trousers, and grey shoes were gagged, their hands tied their back as they were bound to the room's center beam, and at the back wall were a dozen cages of …

"Cats?" Perdita gasped confusedly, but her thoughts were interrupted as XL and Scavenger tore into the room and leaped upon their masters, licking their faces eagerly.

"XL! Scavenger!" Thomas and Anna said at once, and began to both laugh and cry at once, excitedly petting their pets as if there was no tomorrow. Then, after removing their gags, XL and Scavenger began to chew the rope tying them up.

Meanwhile, as Perdita returned to join the other adults keep Grimm under control, Scamp, Angel, and Patch walked into the room and noticed the caged cats. A large, burly grey cat eyed them menacingly.

"What do you want?" the cat asked. "You're not gonna hurt any of us again, ruffians!"

"Wait," Patch asked, seeing that some of the cats wore collars. "Where are your pets?"

"They're not here," the grey cat explained.

"Wait … Are you here because of … those dogs?"

At once, the cats nodded sadly. The grey cat sighed and said, "My apologies. We've been locked up by those nasty brutes …" Then the cat noticed the collars on the dogs. "You're housepets too, aren't you? Well, you've got to be careful. Even in this building, there's …"

But the cat trailed off as Lady, Pongo, Perdita, and Tramp entered the room, all looking exhausted yet relieved. Lady was in front, Pongo and Perdita were behind her and off to her side a bit, while Tramp was in the back, and as the puppies looked closer, they saw that Pongo and Perdita were each holding onto a long, smoky-grey leg, with Tramp monitoring the back and Lady the front of the fiery little dog they had just dealt with. Grimm looked on at the situation in anger and shame, having suffered the consequences of being outnumbered. The cats looked on at them in awe, before their attention was averted to Thomas and Anna finally being released and standing up, the cramps and aches in their body finally being alleviated upon the first moments of freedom.

"I can't believe it … You saved us," Thomas said weakly as XL and Scavenger happily pranced around him.

"Can you please let us out as well? asked a calico cat.

Scamp, Angel and Patch smiled and nodded, jumping down and pressing down on all of the levers to the cat cages as each cat walked out, one by one, and rubbed against them contentedly.

"You guys aren't all that bad for dogs," said a white Persian.

"Gee thanks," Scamp muttered sarcastically. "That's all we get for saving your necks? What a compliment."

"Yeah, but from a cat, that's pretty much saying I love you," Patch whispered as the two of them snickered.

Thomas and Anna then carted Grimm over to one of the crates used before by the cats and locked him inside, before Thomas then went into the vet's drawer and found a sedative, and after much squirming from the dog, gave him a small shot. Grimm yawned as his eyes drooped shut, his expression surprisingly calm.

"You didn't euthanize him, did you?" Anna asked seriously.

Thomas shook his head. "No, I just sedated him enough so that he won't give us any more trouble. That way he won't be able to hurt either of us again."

"I have to say I almost admire him," Anna said. "He was so loyal to his pack, staying here and guarding our door to the very end. Too bad that somehow he just fell onto the wrong path."

Thomas nodded in agreement, before he and Anna walked out, followed by all the other dogs as well as the group of cats that were with them. "Let's get going to our car," Thomas said, as everyone barked in approval.

Suddenly, Scamp asked, "Dad, where's Mom?"

Tramp turned, but it was just one moment too late, for at that moment, Lady slipped back into the room, where Grimm lay sleepily on his crate. She didn't even fully understand why she was doing this, just that her heart compelled her that she needed to do something to ameliorate the situation. Finding an opened dog food bag stashed away in a corner of the room, she carted it over to Grimm's cage. Then leaping with the bag up on top of the cage, Lady tipped it over and poured some kibbles right into Grimm's cage. Too sedated to react, Grimm remained lying there as Lady jumped down and looked seriously at the dog who had fought with them ruthlessly just before.

"You'll be all right," Lady said to him kindly. "I know you will be, someday. You've just got to open up your heart to a world rich in love that's all around you, with happy homes, green gardens, and the warmth of a family that is wonderful for dog and pet alike. And I promise, if you'll learn to give that life of love a chance, you will have a much brighter future." And with that, she gave him a quick, warm smile and turned away, hoping against hope that she may have helped steer one dog in the right direction.


	24. Chapter 24

**Welcome back for another chapter! Thank you to XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for their kind feedback. As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney. Show tunes written adapted from songs written by Johnny Mercer, Gene DePaul, Burt Bacharach and Hal David.**

Chapter 24 – No Doggie Left Behind

"Pidge, why did you do that?" Tramp asked as Lady explained what she had just done, as Thomas and Anna were leading the group of dogs and cats through the vet's and out to the parking lot where their car was parked.

"I don't really know," Lady said thoughtfully. "Just … He was talking about being neglected and ignored in his life by us and … I wanted to show him the kindness in our hearts." The dogs in the group nodded in admiration, however, the cats looked distinctly unimpressed.

"Now's not the time to go soft," the lead grey cat growled, to the vigorous nods of the other cats. "Especially considering what these monsters have done to our kind."

All the dogs looked over at the cats before Perdita asked, "What do you mean?"

"Those streetdogs," a calico answered, her voice tinged with bitter disgust, "Use us cats somehow. We don't really know for what, but they've captured a lot of us, housecats and ferals alike, and locked us up in those awful cages. Then some of us cats get carted out of the room by some of those vicious creatures, and we've never seen head or tail of them again."

"Hey, I think Puffball might what's going on," Patch said as Anna held the door open and Thomas unlocked the car door. "He and Danielle have been so jumpy as of late with any signs of these stray dogs."

"Yeah, and they seemed to know him too," Angel added. "Especially this 'Wilder' they mentioned … Maybe he was an old enemy of Puffball's on the streets?"

"Well, I think it's time for Puffball just to get over hiding things and tell us what's going on," Scamp said determinedly. "I know he's scared, but no way running from the problem is gonna solve it."

"I think you're right whirlwind," Tramp said sadly, breathing a heavy sigh. "I hate to put Danielle and Puffball under so much pressure, but we've got to know what we're up against."

"Maybe I should try gently coaxing it out of them," Lady sighed. "It must be something delicate and truly horrible… I've never seen Danielle so jumpy and unhappy like this. And poor Puffball too… Oh, I just wish things would go back to normal."

"Don't worry, I am sure everything will turn out all right in the end," Perdita told Lady kindly.

"Yes, so long as we have faith in each other and hold on against adversity," Pongo said gently.

Thomas and Anna then opened the back doors, allowing each of the dogs and cats to settle down in the back seats, before closing the doors and checking to make sure that no adversaries were around, the two of them opened the front doors and sat down on the front seats..

"It's nice to finally see meet you neighbor dogs," Anna commented as she buckled her seatbelt. "Thank you so much for coming to rescue us."

Just then, XL and Scavenger crawled up onto the arms of the front seats before jumping up onto the dashboard right in front of Thomas, who smiled as he gently stroked each of them. "And thanks to you two especially," Thomas said. "For helping get the others to find us. I'm so glad you've got to meet our neighbors and see that they're just as nice as we've heard they were."

XL and Scavenger however, then started jumping up and down on the dashboard. Thomas and Anna stared at them for a bit, before Anna said, "Thomas, where's CiCi and Leo?"

"I don't know, I thought they'd be at home … And I know that our neighbors have more dogs than this …"

Continuing jumping and barking, Anna saw the fear and urgency in her two youngest pets' eyes. "Thomas … I think they're saying that CiCi, Leo and our neighbors' other dogs are still outside."

Looking at Anna and then at Scavenger's and XL's confirming expressions, Thomas growled, "Those evil dogs better not hurt anyone else!" And at once, he stepped on the pedal and the car took off down the road.

Pongo and Perdita meanwhile, were looking at the rescued cats, all of whom looked nervous and agitated. "Do any of you have pets to go home to?" Perdita asked.

The cats all shook their heads. "Kidnapped," the grey cat said as the others nodded along. "Our pets have all been kidnapped."

"Well then, feel free to stay with us," Pongo offered friendlily. "Our families are working together to free all of the imprisoned pets around town, and once we get them out, you'll be able to reunite in no time."

The cats smiled hopefully as Thomas continued to drive around town. They kept driving, looking for hide or hair of any of the others, until their thoughts were then interrupted by a loud, roaring bark, "Traitor!"

"Mama!" Angel immediately gasped, and at once, she started yipping to get Thomas' attention.

Thomas immediately put his foot on the brakes, veered around, and drove slowly to where the sound came from, ensuring he wouldn't run over anyone in the process. Turning a corner, he stopped the car as they saw Peg was standing alone on the street, smiling cheekily at a small pack of streetdogs bearing down on her, with a quiver of suitable show tunes she learned from her old showgirl days at the ready.

"You can tell when they open the door, you can tell that there's love in a home!"

"Sing one more word and you wish you've never been born, traitor," a streetdog jeered.

"And a house is not a home when there's no one there to hold you tight…"

"That's it!" roared the same streetdog, and they hurriedly charged.

"Now!" Lucky shouted, lifting his head out of the pile of snow he had concealed himself underneath. At once, he jumped on top of the snow pile and kicked at the snow as fast as his legs could move, sending it careening right at the pack of streetdogs. The streetdogs instantly tripped and howled as they were pelted with snow. Lucky then turned around and followed Peg in running toward the car. Getting up and dazed, the streetdogs began to growl as they broke into a run once more but before they could gain more than a few yards, they saw in horror that two large, well-crafted snowballs were being rolled straight at them, pushing them to the ground. Within seconds, Penny and Collette jumped themselves out of the snow piles at precisely the point where snowballs were launched and joined Peg and Lucky in running to the car.

Just then, Scamp pressed down the window button in the hack seat and called out, "Jump in!"

Penny, Lucky, Peg and Collette didn't need telling twice, and hurriedly leaped through the open window. The strays tried to follow, but the few seconds that they had gained from halting the streetdogs' momentum paid off as they ended up ramming into the back of the car and bouncing back, while Thomas swerved the car around and drove off in the opposite direction.

"That felt great," Peg smirked. "It's been ages since I've sung like that."

"XL! Great to see you're safe," Collette smiled.

"Are these your pets?" Penny asked.

"Sure are!" XL said excitedly.

"They've got a cool car!" Lucky said. "All this space and great speed … Plus it looks awesome too!"

Meanwhile, Collette sighed sadly. "You know where Danielle and her group are at?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to figure out," Pongo answered steadily. "We found your group, so we'll find the others too, don't worry."

Meanwhile, it was apparent that Thomas and Anna were thinking along the same lines. "Let's find CiCi and Leo," Thomas said determinedly.

Anna nodded in agreement, and as Thomas continued to drive, Anna opened her window and stuck her head out of it, as XL and Scavenger dashed over to the seat and looked and listened for any sign of the others. For what seemed to be the longest while, there was no sign of any of them, and all that could be heard was the sound of the car's motor whirring. However, upon carefully listening, they heard a pair of frantic yips, followed by some ragged, ferocious growls. Without a second thought, XL and Scavenger hurriedly began to bark alarmedly to Anna, who turned to Thomas and said, "Thomas, we have to go that way," pointing to the direction of the noises.

The car lurched as it sharply pivoted, and Thomas slammed on the pedal as the car accelerated forward. After driving down a long street, Anna could make out a wide alleyway surrounded by tall concrete walls on either end, and peering down it, she noticed two figures that she would be able to recognize from anywhere.

"Stop the car!" Anna cried out. "It's them!"

Thomas did, and Scavenger and XL leaped out Anna's open window. Upon getting a better look to see just what was going on, the two of them gasped and felt their hearts race dramatically. Danielle, Puffball, CiCi and Leo were running frantically down the alley, but as they did, some long-legged dogs ran in front of them and blocked their path. Then they saw a group of dogs emerge from behind them, and the two of them gasped as in that moment, Danielle, Puffball, CiCi and Leo were cornered in a semicircle against a wall.

XL and Scavenger were about to turn to the others, but at that moment, CiCi abruptly turned, stared at them seriously, and shook her head at them. Confused, XL and Scavenger looked at each other briefly, but in that moment, they saw that CiCi's look grew more insistent. Reluctantly, XL and Scavenger jumped back in the car window, where they were greeted by a whole host of faces, all of them wearing the same expression of deep concern upon looking at the scame horrified scene.

"CiCi says she can take care of it … I think," Scavenger said slowly.

"What? Are we just supposed to sit here and watch my sister get hurt!" Collette cried out.

XL looked concernedly atCollette, as he hated when she looked this distressed. He was about to say something to reassure herm but abruptly stopped, and realized exactly what CiCi was up to. "Wait … I think I know what she's gonna do. Don't worry, she's got a great plan! We better stay here and wait."

And bewildered and concerned but reluctantly trusting XL and CiCi's judgment, everyone tensely waited, peering out the window to see what exactly CiCi had on her mind to get them out of this situation.

Meanwhile, the alley dogs were closing in on Danielle, Puffball, CiCi and Leo, menacingly chortling and growling at the four of them. Among them were Casey, Joe, Bruce and Harley, who stepped in front of others and stood face to face with the housedogs and cat. "It's all over, babe. Time for you and your sorry friends to die," Bruce said, an unmistakable air of triumph in his voice.

"Yeah! Yeah! About time!" Casey shouted excitedly.

"Stop it!" Puffball shouted, glaring at the streetdogs. "Don't hurt them! I'm the one you want. Just take me!"

"No Puffy!" Danielle shouted. "Save yourself! Just get out of here!"

"Touching," Harley drawled mockingly. "But rubbish. There's nothing stopping us killing you, right here, right now."

"Are you sure?" CiCi asked, her eyes flickering. "My friends won't like it if you hurt us."

"Who cares. They're all wimpy housedogs just like you," Joe said dismissively, earning a chorus of snickers from the mob.

"Not all of them are," CiCi replied warningly. "I have some wolf friends who won't take kindly to me being hurt."

"No you don't," Bruce said, though he looked as much to his followers, who squirmed a little bit in response, as he did at CiCi. "All wolves are on our side, and stand for everything we stand for."

CiCi snickered before saying, "Wow, you sure are out of touch. You must have not talked to the locals. We've gone back a long 0ways, them and I. I've known them since my puppyhood days."

Danielle and Puffball, seeing the increasingly nervous expressions of the mob, then began to catch on as well. "Yeah! CiCi's friends are really scary. They're as big as the lions in the zoo, and their huge fangs are always dripping with blood!" Danielle said dramatically.

"And dogs who pretend to be wolves really get on their nerves," Puffball added. "They're really proud and don't like to be impersonated. Who knows that …"

"Um…boss…" muttered a streetdog. "Maybe we should …"

"Shut up," Bruce growled. "Princess and her little pals are obviously bluffing."

"Bluffing, are we?" CiCi smiled toothily at them. "Let's see if you'll still stay that when they arrive," and with that, CiCi lifted her head back and let out a primeval, high-pitched, howl making everyone's hairs stand on end.

Nervous silence ensued as CiCi put her head down, before a few seconds, Casey said, "No one's there! No one's there!"

"Of course no one's there," Bruce sneered, before smirking at CiCi. "You're a fool to think that …"

But then, a low, quiet howl emerged, causing the mob to freeze and look around frantically. Then another low howl rang out, and another, and another, steadily getting louder each time. Danielle and Puffball looked at each other confusedly, while Leo sat back, calmly watching as the pack of street dogs seemed to get more and more scared, fidgeting in their places and slowly creeping away from the noises. Then a low growl rang out, and one of the streetdogs in the back screamed and tore off. Within seconds, others followed suit in a cascading act, squealing like puppies as the terror they felt reached a breaking point, and consumed with fear, the pack ran away with all the speed they could muster, tripping over each other in the haste to get out. At last, only the leaders remained as the howling grew louder and louder, and while they remained in standing their ground, even their eyes grew wide and their heads whirled around frantically.

"Come on guys, get them!" Casey shouted impatiently, jumping up and down. "Before … Before … "

"Uh…" Joe moaned as the howling escalated to reach a few more decibels, his bodily visibly beginning to shake. "Perhaps we should retreat."

"But…" Harley muttered, before the howling, apart from being very loud, began to tremble eerily off the alley's walls for a few seconds, before abruptly stopping. A deafening silence occurred next, but within a few seconds, a series of deep, low rumbling growls began to ring out, in a tone with unmistakably bloodthirsty intentions, "Last warning, barkers …"

At once, the four dogs' eyes jumped back and screamed in pure terror, before making a mad dash out of the alleyway.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Harley growled to Joe, fear emanating from her voice.

"I'm not slow! You're blocking my way!" Joe retorted.

"Guys! Run! The wolves! Coming, coming, aaaah!" Casey screamed.

"You may have escaped for now but we'll be back! Even your friends can't stop our whole pack!" Bruce howled in rage as they left the alleyway.

Danielle and Puffball looked around the alleyway as the howling continued for a few minutes, and upon being sure that the streetdogs were gone, Danielle asked, "CiCi, who are your wolf friends?"

"Yeah, and where are they?" Puffball added.

CiCi looked at Danielle and Puffball, and at once, the growling abruptly stopped. "Whew, that was exhausting," she sighed, catching her breath, as Danielle and Puffball looked at each other in shock.

Just then, the four of them heard a horn honk, and turning, they saw a car parked, waiting for them.

"Thomas! Anna!" CiCi exclaimed, and the four of them ran over to the car and landed inside, where they were warmly greeted with hugs, cheers, and other exclamations of joy.

"That was awesome!" Patch cheered.

"They sure were a bunch of scaredy cats," Scamp snickered, before turning to the cats and saying, "No offense."

"None taken," the cats responded, still smirking.

"How … "Angel began, but Danielle interrupted, "CiCi did it!"

Looking at CiCi in shock, she nodded before saying, "I'm what's called a ventriloquist. I can talk, bark, howl, and growl without moving my lips."

"Whoa," Lucky exclaimed to various murmurs of agreement.

Meanwhile, Anna and Thomas circled around to the back seats and opened the back doors to greet their other two pets. Anna threw her arms around CiCi and exclaimed, "CiCi! I've missed you so much!"

"And you too, Leo," Thomas said, stroking him as he purred contentedly.

Enjoying a few moments of celebration, Thomas asked, "Is everyone safe now?"

Everyone barked and meowed in agreement, and with that, Thomas and Anna got back into their seats and drove home. In what seemed to be no time due to the relief that everyone felt, they reached their street, and Thomas parked his car outside of a house, which was two away from Jim Dear and Darling's.

"Come inside our house," Anna told the large group of dogs, cats and fox in the car, jangling her keys.

"I'll make sure everyone is okay in our house and get them over here," Lady said. "Thomas and Anna can really help take care of Junior until Jim Dear and Darling get back … They wouldn't mind, would they?" Lady asked CiCi tentatively.

"No, they'd be glad to help," CiCi said.

As Lady trotted over to her house to get the others, Anna escorted the cavalcade of pets over to her house, where she unlocked the door. The pets all followed, with Thomas in the rear, ensuring that no alley dogs were waiting to ambush from the behind. At last, everyone was inside except for Thomas and CiCi, waiting for Lady to get everyone who was still over at Jim Dear and Darling's.

Upon entering, everyone stared at the scene around them in shock. The laundry room was completely ravaged, with coat hooks lying helter-skelter all over the ground, the walls embedded with deep scratches, and several holes that were obviously made by aggressive chewing, and the floor was coated with muddy pawprints. Looking around them with horror as Anna gasped and stared wide-eyed at the devastation, they filed into the living room, which was just as much of a mess, with the furniture in tatters and the walls just as they were in the laundry room, with the familiar symbol of two carrot-shaped markings and a frown-shaped curve in between that they saw in Jim Dear and Darling's house repeatedly inscribed in the walls.

"This is horrible…" Perdita said in soft terror, echoed by numerous murmurs of agreement.

Shuffling around to find a place to sit, everyone waited for a few minutes, before the rest of the group entered into the house. At once, the group staying guard over Junior, were relieved to see that everyone had escaped safely, especially Spunky and Two-Tone when they saw that their respective lovers were fine. Finally, Thomas entered, carrying Junior in his arms.

"Is that our neighbors' baby?" Anna asked in disbelief.

"Must be," Thomas said. "Their owners are nowhere in sight. It looks like all our neighbors' dogs must have taken care of the baby."

"Wow," Anna said slowly, examining Junior. "And he looks so well-cared for too. We've got to keep a watch under him until our owners get back and give their dogs a rest," before proceeding to fill up a milk bottle, picking up a blanket, enveloping Junior in it, and going to the rocking chair to sing him a lullaby.

Si and Am meanwhile, couldn't help but notice the large amount of cats that were in the house. "Who are they?" Si asked Leo.

"We are cats that whose pets were kidnapped," the calico answered. "I presume that is who you are also? Cats with kidnapped pets?"

Si and Am looked at each other. "Yes," they both said, and approached the group with interest, showing far more interest in them than any of the dogs have seen with anyone else before.

With everyone settled in, Pongo said nervously, "We've got to figure out what we're gonna do next. Who knows what those dogs will do with our pets…"

"Yes," Perdita agreed. "But I think we ought to learn more about who we are facing. They were so ferocious, and I'm afraid we might not get anywhere if we blindly ambush them."

Tramp, meanwhile, took a glance at Danielle and Puffball, and noticed how tense they both seemed to look. Sighing, Tramp hated going for the jugular on his own daughter and her boyfriend, who was almost like a son to him, especially considering how fearful they both seemed to be. But he knew that Perdita was right, in that the more they knew about their enemies, the better they would do in opposing them, and that behind Danielle and Puffball's constant secrecy and anguished behaviors lay some knowledge on what truly was going on. Sighing, he knew that there was no point in waiting any longer. Looking at Danielle and Puffball seriously, Tramp asked, "Danielle, Puffball, do you know anything about what's going on?"

The two puppies froze and looked at each other alarmedly before Danielle stuttered, "Why'd you ask?"

"Let's just say that … I've never seen you act this frightened, sis," Annette sighed, in a slow voice deep with concern. "It's not like you to constantly be on edge all the time."

" Yes, and you are acting really strangely too," Collette added. "Attacking Rebecca like that …"

"And calling me a murderer," Rebecca added, glancing at Puffball. "I forgive ye, considering the stress ye're under, but … Why did ye do that, Puffball?"

"And you two are always whispering to each other," Penny added. "Especially after every time we've been raided or attacked."

"Who's this Wilder that they mentioned, Puffball?" Angel asked thoughtfully.

Danielle and Puffball sat, wide-eyed, as Lady took a step forward and said, "Please, Danielle, Puffball, let us help you. We really want to in any we can, but … I'm afraid there is nothing we can do if we have nothing to go on."

"Danielle, Puffball," Tramp said, softening his voice. "I know this might be hard, but you've got to let us help you if you want whatever's bothering you to get any better. So please, you two, tell us what's been going on."

Danielle and Puffball stood there, hearts pounding and staring at the floor, not daring to lay their eyes on the others. At last, Danielle sighed, and muttered "Puffy, they're right. We've got to tell everyone what's going on. Everyone's here to help us, we've just gotta let them know what we're up against.'

"But there's no way to stop them," Puffball said, sighing.

Danielle wrapped her paw tightly around her boyfriend and gave him a big hug. "I know you're scared Puffy, but you can't give up. We need all the faith and hope we've got, and we're all more than ready to put a stop to this. They just need to know so we can all work together and come out of this together as a happy family again."

"Dani, I…" Puffball muttered, but Danielle cut him off. "Let's get to the bottom of this so we can stop them once and for all, right Puffy?" she asked, encouraging yet passionate at the same time.

Puffball sighed before saying, "I guess … There's no point running away anymore," before he closed his eyes, placed his head on his paw and looked at the ground, dreading what he knew he had to say next.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hi, I'm back with another chapter! Normally I won't be anywhere near this quick in updating, but this situation was literally the perfect storm: a holiday weekend with no school or work and that I was really in the mood to write as well. Once I started writing this chapter, I couldn't stop, especially because this is quite a critical chapter and turning point for the story. I hope you'll have as much fun reading as I did writing it! As always, thank you again to XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for their comments, thanks to every reader for continuing to read, and also that Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their universes belong to Disney.**

Chapter 25—Darkness Revealed

Puffball stood up, and began breathing heavily, his fur standing on edge. As much as he didn't want to talk about this, he knew that the situation had become too serious and dangerous for everyone for him to not to tell everything that he knew. Sighing, he said slowly, "These … Monsters have been part of my life from the very beginning … Remember how I said Mom and Dad left me? Well, it wasn't just me … I was left with my older brother. We never got along very well. I was always the weak and vulnerable one, who wanted nothing more than to have a peaceful family and life … But he was so different, especially for being my littermate…"

"Hang on," Scamp interrupted. "You said you were abandoned when you were a baby … Well, if he was your littermate, how do you know you're his younger brother if your parents weren't there to tell you?"

"It's obvious," Puffball answered dourly. "His muscles were always twice as big as mine, not to mention he always bossed me around. Besides, there was no point questioning him. He hated being challenged … I only stayed with him because he'd get me food. I think he did that because of his pride. He loved the status he was gaining as a tough streetdog, and didn't want any embarrassment. As his brother, I would reflect off of him, and the last thing he wanted was for me to become a housedog and ruin his reputation. So that's why he kept me, to keep me out on the streets and his status in check."

Sighing again, Puffball said, "He was a skilled streetdog, especially for a puppy … I suppose that's why they found us one day. Three ferocious looking dogs … a greyish-brown one with pointed ears and a dark muzzle, a tannish one with a square jaw and short, folded ears, V-shaped ears, and a grey wolfish one with a thick, plumy tail …"

But at that point, everyone's thoughts were interrupted with a shocked scream. Turning, they saw that it came from Lady, whose breath had suddenly become very stressed and her eyes wildly dilated. Trembling furiously, paws wiggling beyond control, she suddenly gave way and collapsed to the ground.

"Mom!" Scamp, Annette, Collette, and Danielle all screamed at once, bounding over to her, but she did not wake up. Tramp then walked over, a look of comprehension in his eyes, protectively standing by Lady's side, waiting for her to wake up. The only sound breaking the dramatic silence came from the cats' intense conversation, which had been going alongside that of the dogs'.

"Mom, are you okay? What happened, Dad? Is Mom gonna be all right?" Annette asked.

Tramp gave Annette a reassuring nod, then turned to Puffball, who was looking down at the ground and said, "Keep going, Puffball."

"Oh, okay … " Puffball said slowly. Taking in another breath, he resumed. "These three streetdogs started complementing my brother, praising how he managed to outsmart every human he ran into and how he was a rising star among streetdogs. So much so that they asked him to join their pack. Not just any old pack. A pack that promised to make every real dog fulfill their true potential, and to throw off the shackles of human society and reclaim the world for their own."

"But why? Who would have such a problem with humans? After all, they take care of us and give us nice homes," Annette asked.

"And give us the opportunity to go beyond just struggling to exist, allowing us to develop our inner selves and enrich the world around us!" Cadpig exclaimed.

"Yeah, and they also enrich our stomachs," Rolly said longingly, looking around at the kitchen as he spoke.

"Who'd ever want to rid the world of humans? They'd be out of their minds," XL asked indignantly.

"Especially nice, kind ones like our pets," Collette agreed firmly.

"Well," Spunky explained. "Some dogs without humans might. The ones who know them only as dogcatchers and dog murderers."

"Yes," Peg agreed. "It's easy to lose all hope when you… You're in jail, possibly facing the needle at any second. I wouldn't blame them from lashing out if that's all they faced…"

"But they don't want homes though," Lucky said. "Remember those four dogs who tried to kill us? They all came from homes and laughed at our attempts to get them to stop."

"And the rest of the mob laughed with them," Scavenger added. "And had fun attacking the cats at the vets' too."

"I'm not sure all of them are really like that though," Angel pointed out. "Gang leaders make you follow them, whether you like it or not. I had to do loads of bad things with Buster I'd never do on my own just so I wouldn't get kicked out. And the others in his gang were like that too. When Buster made fun of my dream to be a housedog, the others laughed at me with him. But once they left him, they all chose to live in a home too. It might not be what they really think, just them falling to gang pressure."

"I get what you mean," Two-Tone added. "I took part in way too much bullying with Mooch and the others, which I still feel really guilty about. But Whizzer, Dipstick and I never did that stuff on our own. It was all Mooch's pressure on the rest of us and our stupidly following him that led to it all."

"Even I did that stuff when I was with Mooch, and I was only with him for a couple days," Rolly moaned.

"Groupthink," Cadpig sighed. "It sure can have such negative consequences sometimes."

At that moment, Lady began to stir, and slowly regained consciousness.

"Mom!" Danielle asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Danielle," Lady told her gently, before glancing at Puffball. "Puffball, would you like to continue telling your story?"

"Oh, right," Puffball said, caught off guard before he continued. "Let's see … Oh yes. So my brother and I met those three dogs, and they told him how much potential he had and that together, they could reclaim the world for all dogkind. He loved it, and dragged me along … To become part of what would become the new Canine Liberation Force …" Puffball paused slowly.

Suddenly, Pongo had an idea, and asked slowly, "Is your brother … The Wilder they were talking about?"

Nervously, Puffball nodded as Danielle put her paw bracingly around him. "Last thing I've heard, he's become a high-ranking administrator of the pack… And it's a huge pack now, probably a few hundred dogs, not like the small group back then." Trailing off. Puffball said, "Long story short, I got out of there once Wilder was too busy with pack life to watch me, and I became a lone streetdog till I met Dani. But … I've learned some insights about them in that time. In wanting to create a world run by dogkind and without humans, they want to bring the entire canine race to their side…" Breathing heavily, Puffball said, "Part of this Is by recruiting and indoctrinating every dog they can. They've got recruiters everywhere in the tough parts of town, and I hate to say it, but they're very effective. They promise greatness and tell lies about the evils of humans. They especially love to recruit puppies, since dogs our age can be the most impressionable and manipulated to join them."

"That's why we were scared of you, Rebecca," Danielle sighed. "We thought you were a spy they sent to attack us, since a ton of them are puppies."

"And I suppose me story would sound kind of odd," Rebecca said thoughtfully. Smiling, Rebecca said, "Thanks for telling me. I finally understand now, and I'd have done the same thing if I were ye."

"So they're planning a puppy uprising?" Scamp asked incredulously.

"Well, sort of," Danielle said. "We think they're mostly recruiting and indoctrinating now. But that's just part of it. To get all dogs on their side, they also want to silence everyone who doesn't side with them. They've been using some of their toughest, grown-up dogs to remove any opposition they've got. Some of them root out the cats."

At the mention of their word, the cats stopped talking and instantly turned to listen to Danielle. "Why do they do that?" the grey cat asked.

"We don't really know," Danielle answered. "But we think it's because of the old rivalry between our kinds. Plus, attacking cats would get some of us dogs really excited and into the pack, not to mention it's something that awakes our primal instincts and focuses our attention away from the bond we have with humans."

Annette and Colette looked at each other. It was rare that their sister had ever shown this much insight into a situation, and bewilderedly, Annette asked, "How do you know all this?"

"We don't, really," Danielle said. "But Puffy and I've been talking about it a lot, so think we've got some good guesses." Then he continued, "They target all cats, pets or strays. They also target streetdogs who don't hate humans, because they don't tolerate any opposition among dogkind. But … They hate us housedogs the most."

Lady then put a paw forward and stuttered before saying, "I am not surprised. Before many of you were born … Before I even really got to know Tramp … I met those three dogs that Puffball mentioned."

Shocked gasps rang out before Tramp nodded and continued the story. "It was on the first day that Pidge and I met. I was just taking a drink when I looked over and saw her, being chased by three ferocious streetdogs."

"How did you get out?" Annette asked nervously.

"Well, don't forget, I was the master back then," Tramp smirked. "Fighting them off wasn't too much trouble."

"Whoa Pop, that's awesome!" Scamp exclaimed.

Puffball however sighed. "They've grown much tougher since … I've seen their muscles grow along with their rage …"

"I'm afraid he's probably right," Tramp sadly said. "I didn't know them that well, but I know that they didn't take going down very easily, and that if they did, they'd do anything to get revenge."

Sighing, Puffball continued, "I'm not surprised that they'd attack you, even back then. Especially considering their hatred. They've drilled into every puppy's head from a young age that housedogs are evil oppressors, conspiring with the human race to hold up the system that exterminates any streetdog, puts all of dogkind, especially streetdogs, in a powerless position, and suppress the revolution that would allow all dogs to be "real dogs" forever."

"So they really view all of us as heartless monsters?" Perdita asked in alarm, to which Puffball nodded.

"And act like we approve of the injections in the pound?" Peg asked angrily, to which Puffball nodded again.

"And what do they mean by 'real dog'?" Penny asked.

Puffball opened his mouth, but Scamp answered. "Any dog that does whatever they want, without thinking about others' feelings or their own actions, and is constantly power-hungry and ready to hurt others to get it."

Puffball said, "Couldn't have put it better myself."

Scamp smiled. "I know from experience and I've seen so much of it from Buster too."

"So savage," Cadpig sighed dejectedly, "To have a society built on primeval impulses."

"But … Can't everyone see that they are just preaching hate?" Patch asked.

"Yes, and not once do they talk about things like being kind and caring for each other!" Collette exclaimed indignantly.

"They think that stuff is only for softies," Danielle answered. "And just to be sure no one will challenge that, they want to target everyone who thinks like that now so they can create a pack fully behind their vision."

"So they've been raiding all the houses and targeting all the housedogs and their owners inside," Puffball said. "They've been doing it a while now, but it's probably gotten worse. From what I've seen, they've usually been quick raids, and they just grab the humans, cats and dogs and haul them off to their headquarters. But … "Puffball sighed, before pointing to the strange symbol, that of the two carrot marks connected by a frown face. "This is the sign of ultimate hatred. It's meant to look like a cat, that the dogs living here have gotten so far from what makes a real dog to them that they have begun cats, or traitors. The sign that means rather than just simply catching them, they wants to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible on these "traitor dogs" to break them down mentally and physically before finally going ahead and terminating them. Only a few houses get this symbol … And I think I know how we did," Puffball said, shivering, before Danielle picked up.

"Part of why dogs follow them is because they've got a powerful message, that snobby humans and their snobby dogs snub any dog without a pedigree like vermin and that a violent overthrow is the only way to fix things … But so much of what our families have done is not like that. Mom, when you fell in love with Dad, you really broke the class barrier that they've been preaching is impossible to break."

"I … I did not think of that at all," Lady said slowly. "I … just loved Tramp, everything about him, and though I knew he came from a different background, it didn't stop our love from flourishing in the slightest."

"I know," she said. "But it's the beginning of why they hate us so much. Since then, so much of what our families have done disproves they say about housedogs," Danielle said sadly. "If our family was as snobby as they say, Annette, Colette, Scamp and I shouldn't have been born because we're housedog mutts, Scamp and I would never have fallen in love with streetdogs, and Jim Dear and Darling would never adopt Dad, Angel, Puffy, Peg or Spunky."

She turned to the Dalmatians and said, "And you and your pets wouldn't have adopted 84 puppies, with no papers and no pedigrees, just out of the goodness of your hearts …" And turning to XL, CiCi, Scavenger and Leo, she said, "And with you, they'd say it's impossible that a fox, a cat, and a dog can all live peacefully in the same house with two more caring humans. Plus considering that so many of our neighbors adopted ex-junkyard dogs … All that disproves them even more."

Puffball said, "They can't have this going on, so their putting out a bunch of lies instead. Us ex-streetdogs shouldn't exist under their logic because we show that humans and housedogs are kind and welcoming to any streetdog looking for a home. So they're accusing us of being traitors because we're supposedly in on the whole plot to oppress and kill every streetdog instead: But …"

Puffball trailed off, before saying, "Discrediting us is not enough. I think what they really want is to use us to further their cause even more. Danielle and I've talked about this, and we bet that ... That their plan is to murder us, and frame our pets for it. That way, our deaths can be viewed as an outrage against dogkind, that even what seem to be the nicest humans and their most faithful dogs don't have a real relationship … And that way, they can use us as proof that no matter what we dogs do, the humans will turn on us and thus … The only way us dogs can move forward is to revolt against humankind."

Scamp exclaimed, "We've done enough talking! It's time we just go there and to put a stop to them!"

"But what can we do?" Penny asked despairingly. "We may be a big family, but like Puffball said, there's bound to be many more dogs in that pack, and they're probably much readier for combat than we are!"

"I think you're both right," Pongo said wisely. "We've got to move quickly, but there's no way we can defeat them with a direct attack."

"Also, don't you think we should try convincing these puppies that fighting and hatred is not the answer?" Perdita asked. "I mean, I know some of them will not listen, but I'm afraid many of them never had a chance to learn otherwise."

"Yes," Peg agreed. "We're not gonna solve the problem if we just fight them. Even if we somehow beat them, other streetdogs will just see them as martyrs and carry on their cause."

"If we're gonna change their minds, we've got to get the chance to talk to them," Patch said. "They've got to relate to us and see us for themselves for them to realize that we're all dogs and that we're not the monsters they say we are."

"How are we going to do that? They've probably been taught to kill us right away," Annette said worriedly.

"I think we've got to infiltrate them in a disguise, so we can look like them," Two-Tone suggested. "Appearance can do wonders at removing suspicion."

"We can't use soot again," Pongo cautioned. "They're bound to know about our previous escapes."

"No, but there are other ways," Two-Tone said, her eyes twinkling. "And I know who'd be a great infiltrator." Everyone looked around blankly, before Two-Tone pointed at Rebecca. "Me? Why me?" Rebecca asked, bewilderedly.

But with the passing seconds, everyone's blank expressions slowly grew into looks of approval. "They might not know about you," Spunky said thoughtfully. "They probably didn't take the time to spot every Dalmatian puppy in the house, plus, since you just came here, they probably don't know you exist."

"Yeah," Patch agreed, "And you have the perfect accent for the job. Spies that use their voice do a great job of disguising themselves."

"But I don't know if I can disguise my voice," Rebecca said doubtfully.

"You don't need to," Two-Tone smiled. 'You've already got the perfect voice, just speak like you always do!"

"And if they ask, you can even say where you've come from," Lucky answered. "They can't get to your world and it won't incriminate us, so you won't even need to lie to get in!"

"I suppose," Rebecca said carefully. "But even if I get in, how can I do this all myself?"

"You won't," Lucky said reassuringly. "Some of us are gonna come in with you."

"Yeah, but how would we get in without them finding us out?" Patch asked.

"We'd need to disguise everyone who goes in," Two-Tone said.

"Yeah, and since they recruit puppies, I think only puppies can pull this off," Scamp said.

"We'd need some story get in though," Danielle added. "They're bound to ask about us."

"Well, how about …. " Angel said, before smirking, "We pretend to be an up and coming puppy gang from De Vil Ville that wants to join forces with them. We'd need some makeup to look the part, but that way, we can look convincingly tough, and we can let Rebecca as the leader do the talking to get us all in!"

"Ye mean … I'm going to pretend to be a gang leader?" Rebecca asked, shocked.

"Yeah, and you'll be great!" Two-Tone exclaimed. "I'll help you get some basics down on how to act tough … And we'll have to make your spots look more threatening … But yeah, you've got the backstory and the accent all wrapped up, so you're pretty much set!"

"I hope ye right," Rebecca smiled, pausing for a few seconds before saying in a deep, gruff voice, while still maintaining her Scottish accent, "Who's in my crew?"

"Great start!" Lucky exclaimed as he raised his paw, as did Two-Tone, Scamp, Angel, Danielle, Patch, Cadpig and Puffball.

"I think we need something to stir them up to distract them" Tramp said, but at once, Lucky smirked.

"We already have them!" Lucky exclaimed, and upon glancing at Rolly and Cadpig, the three of them shared a smirk, before looking expectantly at the cats, who looked bewildered. At last, the grey cat spoke up, saying, "What are you saying?"

"Well," Cadpig said, smiling broadly. "We had a mentor named Lieutenant Pug, who liked to act all big and tough … But deep down, I could sense he had an inferiority complex."

"Yeah," Rolly said, laughing. "And his worst fear was something he called The Great Cat Invasion."

"So we're thinking, maybe you guys can show them what a real cat invasion is," Lucky said. "That way, while you distract them, we can break in and look for everybody's pets!"

Most of the cats looked quite impressed with the idea, some nodding along with it, some snickering about the idea of scaring the very dogs that had tormented them, and others looking excited about any plan to reunite with their pets again. However, Si and Am looked skeptical.

"No way," Si said.

"We won't do anything a dog tells us," Am said. Upon hearing this, the other cats moved away from Si and Am a little.

"Fine, your loss," Cadpig said cheerily. "Guess you won't have your shot at revenge then."

"Wait, we want revenge!" Am exclaimed.

"Well, follow the plan then," the calico spoke up.

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend, so we must team up!" put in a black cat.

Si and Am sighed, but reluctantly nodded.

CiCi then said, "XL, Scavenger, Leo and I will try explaining everything to our pets about what we're gonna do."

"Where do we go, anyway?" the grey cat asked.

Puffball answered, "Their headquarters is at a creepy warehouse in Dusk Way …"

This was met with several gasps and groans. "Figures," Scamp grumbled. "That they'd pick a place near Cruella's old shack."

"Right," Scavenger said to Puffball. "You tell me what way to go, and I'll steer Thomas the right way."

The group then dispersed. XL, CiCi, Scavenger and Leo went over to Thomas and Anna, trying to communicate with them the best they could about the plan in a mix of sounds, actions, charades and gestures. At first Thomas and Anna were amused, thinking they were trying to entertain them, but soon understood that this was serious business and watched and listened to them, hoping to understand them. The rest of the cats meanwhile, gathered in a corner, discussing the various tricks, moves and strategies they would use to try to create a distraction. As the other dogs went to search around the house for anything to disguise the undercover puppies, Scamp, Angel, Patch, Lucky, Two-Tone, Cadpig, Danielle, Puffball and Rebecca huddled together.

"You're gonna be the big bad boss," Lucky said, "So just be sure to act like it. Keep your head held up high … Like that … Now bring out your chest … Great! Oh, and don't smile so much. Look threateningly at them … Keep trying, you'll get there!"

"We've got to remember to look tough too," Angel pointed out. "But also a bit scared of Rebecca, because she's our boss. Buster never let anyone challenge him, and we shouldn't look like we'd dare to challenge Rebecca either."

"Yeah," Two-Tone agreed. "Mooch didn't tolerate it either. We should stand back from Rebecca, but smirk, nod, laugh along with her like followers do."

"We've got to impress them somehow too," Scamp said. "Remember Buster's tests? Looking tough is one thing, but we've got to do something to prove we're tough enough for them."

"Hey," XL said. "You can use me. What do they think of foxes? I mean, we're canines … And most of us are wild …"

"Inferiors, certainly," Puffball answered. "Why?"

"You can use me as bait," XL suggested. "Rebecca can pretend to kill me off, with you guys backing her up, and that can be your initiation test."

"They'd probably want to see your body as proof," Angel cautioned.

"You can pretend you ate me," XL answered. "I'll just dig underground to get back to the others," XL said.

"Okay, and we'll cover your hole when it looks like we're attacking you," Two-Tone agreed.

"But we've got to have some after breath to make it look like we just ate fox," Patch said, shivering with the thought.

"We need some kind of meat to get that," Danielle said. "Some really stinky meat."

"How could we get that though if they raided the fridges ..." before pausing, and Lucky began to ask, before pausing and saying, "Unless there's some meat that doesn't get put there."

Just then, Rolly walked in. Turning excitedly, Lucky asked, "Rolly, are there meats humans don't refrigerate?"

Knowing Rolly was a food connoisseur would make him more likely than anyone else to answer that question, but Lucky was still expecting Rolly to shake his head or shrug his shoulders. What he didn't expect was instead, Rolly's eyes lit up and his tail started wagging. "Oh papa! Jerky! Roger and Anita really need to get that stuff again!"

At once, everyone's faces lit up. "Perfect!" Angel exclaimed. "Jerky gives you really bad breath."

"It's tough, thick meat too, just like my pets back home say fox meat is like," Rebecca said, before realizing her mistake and saying, "Oh, sorry XL…"

"It's okay," XL said understandingly.

"So you've got any jerky around?" Patch asked hopefully, to which XL nodded. "They keep it downstairs in the cellar. Did they raid that?"

Rolly shook his head. "Nope. I'll get Mom and Dad to bring the jerky up, as long as I can have some first," Rolly said, and he waddled down the stairs, licking his lips and saying, "Mmm … Jerky!"

After another few hours of discussions and preparations, Thomas and Anna brought over a bag of dog food they got from the pets and proceeded to feed all the hungry dogs, cats, and fox. After going over their plan, the others told the puppies that would be going undercover what they had found.

"I've found some sunglasses in the basement," Collette explained, pointing out nine pairs of sunglasses, eight with round frames and one with diagonally tilted shield sunglasses. "You'll look much tougher with those on."

As Rebecca took the shield sunglasses and the others took a round pair, they got into formation, with Rebecca standing commandingly in the center and the others stood by her look bodyguards.

"Wow, if I didn't know better, I'd think you'd be a scary bunch," Annette commented.

"It's the eyes," Lady added. "We can't see your eyes anymore, and it makes you look much more threatening."

"We still need more though," Perdita said cautiously. "A group of Dalmatian puppies are bound to get them suspicious, as would Angel's ears since one's folded and one's not, and two puppies who look just like Lady and Tramp, and I'm afraid they would recognize Puffball too."

"Luckily, Perdy and I found some paint to cover you up," Pongo said, trotting over and dragging over two large cans of paint, one white and one black. "We can cover up your spots and put more markings on you to confuse them."

"Don't forget this," Spunky said, dragging over a smaller can of red paint. "Some battle scars will be handy at pulling the look off, especially for you, Rebecca."

"Can we have some grey paint too?" XL asked. "They won't suspect me if it's a grey fox they're attacking since I'm a red fox."

"Yeah, and we'd look better with we weren't all black and white," Danielle added.

"Good idea, I'll look," Perdita said as she went back to the basement.

"And of course, we've got to get these off," Scamp said, shaking off his collar as the others followed suit, though Rebecca needed Annette to come over to help her especially large one off. CiCi then laid out a large tarp for the puppies to get into their disguises, and Lady and Tramp brought over the black and white paints while Penny brought over a small art box containing paint brushes and stamps. Following this, Pongo came up with cans of brown and grey paints and Perdita went around, biting onto paintbrushes they had dipped in the white paint and painting away of each of Lucky, Patch, Rebecca, and Cadpig's spots. Because Two-Tone was mostly black on her back side however, she just went ahead and dunked herself in the black paint, coming out as an all black dog. Seeing this, Puffball followed suit and also emerged black. Spunky then sponged some brown paint onto Puffball while Penny sponged some grey paint on Two-Tone, while Pongo swathed markings on Lucky and Patch, giving each of them distinctive markings, including a thick, brown mark down Lucky's back and heavily greying Patch's face, concealing any trace of the patch around his eye he still had. Perdita meanwhile, peppered some small brown speckles on Cadpig's face, as well as coating her legs with grey paint.

.Danielle meanwhile jumped into the white paint first, immersing herself in the white before coming out, before putting her ears in the black paint as Lady peppered her body with black markings using a sponge soaked in black paint, especially around the face and her eyes. Scamp largely kept his naturally grey fur but blackened his and muzzle and paws as Tramp inspected him while dabbing on a small amount of black paint.

"You still look too much like me," Tramp sighed. XL noticed the scene, and yipped to get Thomas and Anna's' attention. Fortunately, by now Thomas and Anna, seeing the scene before them, had a pretty good idea of what was going on, and Anna promptly picked up Scamp and asked, "You need to look different from your father?"

As Scamp nodded and yipped in the affirmative, Anna got out some scissors, trimming the iconic mustache that he and Tramp shared. Meanwhile, Angel found some very strong glue and got Peg to fold her ear down and glue it in place so it looked like she had two folded ears, before she lightly browned Angel's coat with a thin coating of paint, before Angel then proceeded to dip the tip of her plumed tail into the black paint, completing her disguised appearance.

Upon coating everyone else, everyone turned to face Rebecca. Knowing that she would be the gang's leader and the one the wild dogs would focus on the most, everyone knew that her coat had to look perfect. In the end, Rebecca dyed herself in grey and blackened her ears before everyone else went around sponging her body with many black markings, making her look impressively mysterious and sinister at the same time. Then, in a stroke of creativity and using his special ability to remember where things were located and find them, Scavenger found two sponges of a dog's skull with two crossbones that Thomas and Anna had used to decorate CiCi with on a previous Halloween, one small and one quite large. At once, Thomas and Anna got the message, and covered the sponges with red paint and marked each of the dogs twice, one on each side of their bodies, at the rump, using the bigger sponge to decorate Rebecca given her role as the leader while using the smaller sponge for the others. Then the others put light, thin streaks of red paint on the disguised puppies to give them the illusion of scars from scratches.

They waited for a little while for the paint to dry, and just when it did, CiCi said, "Oh yeah! You guys would need to be dirty to get through. This way!" CiCi led them to the porch, where a patch of mud lay outside of them.

"Awesome!" Scamp exclaimed as the others looked excitedly at it. As everyone's paint was now completely dry, the puppies got into line to soak their coats with mud. CiCi pet each of them backwards, spiking their fur up, before they plunged into the mud, trying to envelop their whole body in it, before having their fur being normally pet back by Perdita. This resulting in the mud getting stuck in their coats, while the paint, firmly into the fur, did not come out, giving them the various layers of disguise that they needed. After this, everyone filled into the car. Thomas and Anna laid out the tarp in the back while taking out the seats, and all the still-clean dogs and cats got in, leaving space open for the disguised group. Then the disguised dogs arrived, filing in right by the car door as they stood.

Tramp meanwhile, had a large box of beef jerky at the ready. "Dig in!" he exclaimed, dumping the box of beef jerky over. The disguised puppies determinedly ate strip after strip of beef jerky, wanting their breaths to be as pungent as possible. They finally stopped once they felt the smoky aftertaste of the jerky come to dominate their mouths and smelled it coming from the others' breaths.

"This is gonna work, I know it!" Scamp exclaimed excitedly.

"I hope you're right, Scamp," Puffball said as the car lurched to a start as Thomas began to drive down the street.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hi everyone! Well, things are now looking up for me with exams finally done! And I can't tell how you how great it feels to get back into the groove of writing again. I know this chapter's a bit short, but I just had to stop it where I did ... You'll see why! Once again, thanks so much to XLR8 the Fox for his help and motivation to keep me going through the story, as well as to Evil-Copper for favoriting and reviewing so many chapters, and also to everyone else for continuing to read this story. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their worlds belong to Disney.**

Chapter 26 – Pack Recruitment

Looking over, Thomas slowly set the car in motion down the set. As the environment around them was so desolate, with virtually every human, cat or housedog kidnapped, it was imperative to make as little noise as possible, leading Thomas to drive the car at an agonizingly slow speed. The inside of the car on the other hand was consumed with sound. Puffball gave directions to XL and Scavenger, who in turn gave directions to Thomas, as all the while Junior, confused and scared, cried out loudly as Anna cradled him to calm him the best she could. Penny, Annette, Collette, Rolly and Katie stood guard along the side windows, standing on their hind legs as they placed their front paws on the window's base and stared outside, making sure no wild dogs were coming for an ambush. Lady, Pongo, Perdita, and CiCi were positioned along the back window doing the same, while Tramp, Peg, and Spunky gathered around the group of disguised puppies except Puffball and XL in an effort to get some final strategy in.

"Remember Rebecca, what makes a gang leader powerful is all about attitude," Spunky advised. "Act like you rule the world and show as much confidence as you can. Also, don't look afraid, because you have a reputation on the line. The less fear you show to them, the more you'll look like a gang leader not to mess with."

"Yeah, and if they get suspicious, shoot some comebacks out to shut them up," Tramp suggested. "That'll get them to know you mean business." Looking at all the disguised puppies, Tramp continued, " And it'd probably be a good idea for you to split up in pairs too. They'd get suspicious if you all stick too closely together, but everyone still needs a lookout in case any of you get caught."

"Also, don't partner up with your special someone," Peg warned. "They'd have a lot easier of a time recognizing couples because that's probably who they're expecting to be together."

"We thought of that too, and came up with pairs already," Angel explained. "I'm with Danielle, Scamp's with Patch, Puffball's with Lucky, and Cadpig's with Two-Tone."

"Two-Tone and I will also be watching Rebecca too," Cadpig pointed out.

"We're acting as Rebecca's top henchdogs in the gang, so we'll be right there to help her out of trouble in case our cover is blown," Two-Tone added determinedly.

"They won't know what hit them when I'll be done with them," Cadpig smirked.

"Don't do anything too risky, Cadpig," Perdita told her daughter cautiously.

"Don't worry," Two-Tone assured her. "Cadpig and I have got it made."

"All of us will be looking around the place to investigate the pack, the headquarters and see if we can find where everyone else has been locked up," Patch added.

"Yeah," Scamp said excitedly. "And if anyone finds out where everyone's locked up, we'll say …"

"Puppy chow!" The puppies all shouted in unison.

"And if anyone's in trouble, we'll say …"

"Dogcatcher!"

"Well, I'm sure you guys are gonna nail it, no problem," Tramp said confidently.

"We'll be parked nearby and will come for you whenever you're ready," Lady added reassuringly.

Two-Tone then turned to Rebecca, who still looked quite nervous. "What's wrong Rebecca?"

"I don't know," Rebecca replied anxiously. "I mean … I've got a lot of responsibility, with all the things I need to do …"

"You'll do fine," Two-Tone reassured her. "I know you will."

"But … I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to talk to them."

"Here are some good words to say," Two-Tone said to Rebecca, before leaning over and whispering some carefully selected words.

"Huh? What do those mean?" Rebecca asked.

After Two-Tone explained, Rebecca asked, "Isn't that a bit … Well, mean?"

"That's how a tough gang leader talks," Two-Tone told Rebecca confidently. "Don't think about being nice, it's all about the attitude. Watch." Two-Tone then growled, "You're dead meat, sucker."

"You're dead meat, sucker?" Rebecca replied.

"Good, now try it again, but say it with attitude and add in everything we've talked about," Two-Tone advised.

Rebecca obliged, and as Two-Tone steadily worked with her, Rebecca's uncertain, nervous tone steadily slipped into one far more confident and menacing. "You're getting really good at this," Two-Tone said happily to Rebecca. "You'd sure be enough to scare Mooch to death!"

Just then, the car stopped. "We're here," Puffball said as everyone turned to the front expectantly. Looking around them, they were parked in a small parking lot beyond which lay a thin forest of evergreens. "We can't get any closer than this without being noticed."

"I guess it's now or never," Patch sighed.

Thomas then unbuckled his seat belt, got out of the car and walked around it to open up the trunk door. Knowing what they had to do, the disguised puppies stood on the ledge and stared at the cold, dark pavement, wondering if they would ever see their family again.

"Good luck everyone," Lady exclaimed. "We'll see each other again, I promise," she said, trying desperately to express all the optimism she had.

Scamp, Angel, Patch, Danielle, Puffball, XL, Lucky, Cadpig, Two-Tone, and Rebecca looked behind at the others, nodded, before they all jumped out of the car. Feeling their pads hit the pavement, they looked to make sure no one was watching them before walking carefully alongside the car before feeling the dirt that marked the entry into the small forest. Once getting under the protective covering of the trees, they quietly moved through the thickets and bramble to get to the other side. As they drew nearer, their noses were tickled by a strong, putrid stench that increasingly encompassed the area .

"Could that be … poop?" Patch asked uncomfortably as the others exchanged similar expressions of disgust. But the more they thought about it and the more they smelled, the surer they were that they were smelling an overwhelming dog amount of waste.

"Ugh, we must be getting close," Scamp groaned. "It's getting stronger and stronger!"

"We've just gotta act like we're used to it," Angel sighed, though she too couldn't help but wrinkle her nose and scowl in disgust.

Holding back any urge to vomit, they pushed forward through the thickets. As they pressed on, they began to actually see piles of waste scattered around, as well as trees that had clearly been extremely well-marked that only contributed to the filthy pain their noses were experiencing.

"Ugh!" Two-Tone shouted a second later, and as everyone turned, they saw that she had just stepped on a large pile of droppings hidden by the forest's dim light. "Gross!" she spat out in disgust, and desperately stuck her foot in a snowy patch, desperately trying to rub it off.

As they continued to trudge onward, they noticed other things that just felt off about the area too. "Isn't it weird," Scamp said, "That we haven't seen or heard one bird or squirrel yet?"

"The wild dogs must have hunted them all," Puffball said. "They sure loved going on killing sprees when I was around. Sometimes they had competitions of who could hunt the most."

"And … I don't know," Danielle said. "I just feel … Cold here. And I don't mean physically. I mean … Like all the love, hope, safety, and happiness we have back home is gone."

"No wonder why Cruella was attracted to this place," Patch said as the others agreed.

They continued to trudge forward before finally reaching the edge of the forest, and stared for a while at the sight just beyond the forest. Across the nearby street and straight ahead of them was a large, wide, two-story rectangular shaped building. Like with Cruella's house in Dusk Way, the building looked threatening, with old, threatening, and thick concrete walls surrounding the building, making it look more like a prison than the warehouse it supposedly was. Surrounding the building was a long dirt lot, which apart from having a scattered amount of trees that looked to be long past dead, also had a rugged brown terrain which they could tell by the stench was what had to be layers upon layers of dog waste. In the distance and standing right by what appeared to be electronic doors were several dogs who appeared to be stationed on guard duty, standing imposingly as they scowled intimidatingly, seeming to be constantly on the alert for trouble.

"We're here," Puffball groaned ominously.

Knowing what they had to do, the puppies prepared to get into formation. With their coats still mucky and painted and their sunglasses on, Rebecca took a step forward, while Two-Tone and Cadpig stood a step behind on either side of her, while Scamp, Angel, Lucky, Patch, Danielle and Puffball stood further behind. They then they began to prepare their posture, stiffening their bodies to show off their muscles, scowling threateningly, holding their heads up high, and baring their teeth, letting out a long, low growl as they did. As they perfected their undercover personas, XL watched them, amazed with how well these puppies whom he knew were so nice, friendly and loving were able to pull off a look of such intense, vigorous ferocity.

"Awesome!" XL said excitedly. "You guys look real mean! Ready?"

Still holding their teeth bared, the others nodded. Taking a breath, XL said, "I'm going over there. Make sure they see you attack me!"

And determinedly, XL rushed forward, hurling himself across the abandoned street and upon crossing it, pretended to sniff around the territory. Meandering down the dirt path, XL drew closer and closer to the headquarters. As he did, he caught the increasingly narrow and suspicious eyes of the guard dogs, who leered at him but did not move from their posts.

Rebecca then said, "Let's …." before shaking her head. Clearing her throat and lowering her voice while keeping her thick accent, she then growled, "Let's get that sucker."

"Perfect," Two-Tone whispered, and in that second, the group of puppies charged across the street. With all the vocal power they could muster, they simultaneously let out the deepest, loudest barks they possibly could, and upon catching sight of XL, they lunged straight at him. XL's eyes widened as he began to run away, but within seconds, the puppies broke out of their formation and quickly surrounded XL, closing in on him in an ever-tighter circle right in front of the wild dogs' headquarters.

"You picked the wrong gang to fight with, punk," Rebecca growled, as the whole group bared their fangs at XL, before hurriedly crowding around him, snapping their teeth, making many different biting and slashing noises as well ferocious, hungry growls as XL shrieked, doing his best to sound as though he was in pure agony. Through the commotion, they sneakily dug a hole for XL to hide in, keeping their paws hidden tightly under their snapping, growling mouths, which XL hurried inside before they hurriedly covered it up. Out of the corner of his eye, Scamp also saw that they had caught the attention of the guard dogs, who were watching them intently and with clear interest. Nudging the others while pretending to ignore the guards, the others smirked and licked their lips, pretending as though they had just eaten XL.

"Too easy," Scamp shouted. "And they say foxes are smart!"

"Tasted good though," Patch said menacingly.

"One more loser down," Angel smirked.

"Come on gang," Rebecca sneered. "Let's find some other eedjit to take down."

"Right boss!" the others responded. Turning around, Rebecca pretended to lead the group away, but at that moment, they heard a loud series of footsteps behind them. Turning, they saw that one of the guard dogs had left his post and rushed forward to talk to them.

"Wait! Who are you? I ain't see you 'round here before," the guard said.

"Who gives you the right to speak to the boss like that!" Two-Tone growled angrily as the others followed suit, flashing their teeth.

"Yeah, unless you wanna end up like that fox," Lucky smirked.

"It's fine, I can handle this low-life," Rebecca replied calmly. "We're fa'rn and came to these parts from across the sea called De Vil Ville. But I suggest you not provoke us shall ye not want to invoke our wrath."

"Oh, I don't … It's just … But we could use some hardcore dogs like you in our gang!" the guard dog exclaimed excitedly.

Rebecca, however, just shook her head. "We're not just any old dogs looking for any wee pack. We've ran so many losers out of town that we'd only consider the best of the best."

Rebecca knew she had done the trick, for at once, the guard dog looked desperately at her and said, "But we're not just any old gang … We're the best dog gang there is, and we're gonna make it so real dogs will rule everywhere!"'

"Thanks, but no thanks. We've got enough power on our own," Rebecca said dismissively.

The guard dog began to look desperate. "But …. You've got so much potential … We'll give you more power … I'm sure we have top positions somewhere in our pack for your gang! We've got a huge pack of real dogs, and we're only getting bigger! Plus, with you being so young, by the time you grow up, you'll rule over the most fearsome pack this world has seen. Whad'ya think?"

"Boss, he's got a point," Two-Tone murmured.

Rebecca sighed before saying, "Fine. I'll consider it. But at my say so, we leave, right?"

"Right," the others saluted Rebecca, all the while impressed at her quick wit in being able to manipulate the dog guard.

"Great! Follow me!" the guard dog exclaimed, before chortling to himself, "And no doubt they'll make me a top dog now too!"

They walked over to the house, the guard dog with a major spring in his step as the puppies coolly followed. "Hey guys! I've got some new recruits!" he yelled to the other guards, who stared in disbelief at the band of puppies that strutted behind him. "And don't you think about taking the credit. They're mine."

As the other guards angrily glowered back, the guard dog turned to the doors. "Open up!" he shouted, and at once, the doors sprang open, revealing a surprisingly tidy room. A sparkling ruby red velvety carpet adorned the floor, with red walls to match with several framed pictures on the wall, along with a red curtain at the back, which was guarded by yet more dogs. Amazingly, considering the massive amount of waste that was so close to them, they couldn't smell a whiff of it coming from this room. However, the room had a powerful smell of cigarette smoke enveloping it, making the room just as foreboding on their noses.

"Don't mind the receptionist," the guard whispered. "She's a pain but she's worth it. Stay right there, I'll let her know you're here."

As the guard walked off, the puppies finally got a chance to talk to each other. "Why's this room so clean?" Scamp asked bewilderedly.

"It sure doesn't smell clean though," Danielle said disgustedly. "I haven't smelled this much smoke since … Cruella."

"Guys," Patch whispered alarmedly, pointing at a large, framed oval-shaped portrait on the wall, surrounded by a ring of elegant gemstones. Though she was obviously made to look prettier in her portrait than in real life, there was no mistaking who was in that portrait.

"What's she doing here?" Lucky muttered bewilderedly, before looking at Cadpig darkly and saying, "Unless …"

But they were cut off by the guard dog. "She's ready!" he exclaimed. They followed him over to a large desk standing at the edge of the room with a swivel chair behind it.

"Welcome in," purred a voice. And before they could react, the swivel chair spun around to face them, and they stared in shock as they saw a tall, skinny pink Afghan hound was seated on it, with strikingly familiar black and white ears, an upturned nose, a pink bow on top, and a sinister sneer planted on her face. "My name is Vendella De Vil. How may I help you?"


	27. Chapter 27

Here's the next chapter! As always, thanks to XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for their continued feedback, as well as to XLR8 the Fox in this chapter to helping me write some of the dialogue and ideas here. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their worlds belong to Disney.

Chapter 27 – Sneaking Through The Hideout

Looking at each other in silent disbelief, the puppies were very grateful they had their sunglasses on, for there was no way they could conceal the looks of shock they knew were in their eyes. For Patch, Scamp, Angel, Danielle, Puffball, and Two-Tone, who had never heard of Vendella, the possibility that Cruella could even have had a dog of her own was beyond belief, as it was for Rebecca, whose experience with Judge Dimsdale De Vil led her to the same conclusion. However, Lucky and Cadpig knew Vendella far too well, and as surprised as they were to see her here, they knew she had the cruelness of her old pet. Then a second thought ran over them. "Lucky," Cadpig whispered frantically. "Vendella might be able to recognize our scent!"

Nodding understandingly, Lucky and Cadpig carefully took a couple steps back. Luckily, Vendella had other things on her mind. "I see you've noticed my Cruella's portrait. She was not like other humans, for she was always sympathetic to our cause and tried to dispose of the unworthy … Speaking of which …" she beckoned the puppies to come over to a long bench across from the table, upon which they stood on top of, trying to resist the urge to react or even glance at each other in response to the unbelievably manipulative and distorted way Vendella framed Cruella's actions. "First off, have you seen any of these dogs here?" she asked, pounding on the surface on the desk.

Upon looking at it, each of the puppies felt their hearts begin to pound. Underneath the desk's clear surface was a large diagram with the words WANTED printed in large text. In the center of the diagram were dark, grainy photos of all the dogs of the three houses, except for Rebecca and Two-Tone, each of which was captioned with the dog's name and the words "INSTANT PROMOTION". Circling around the edges of the diagram were similar photos, most of them were punctured with a large claw mark. Upon a brief scan of these pictures, they saw several familiar faces, including Jock and Trusty, Boris, Thunderbolt, the Colonel, the other ex-junkyard dogs, the Labrador and collie who had helped the Dalmatians get home, and several of the neighborhood dogs, including Katie, on their street. Taking all this in rapidly, Vendella asked again, "Well? Have you?"

"No," Rebecca answered simply. "Just like we told ye guard, we fa'rn and don't know the local dogs."

"Very well," Vendella smirked. "But for your information, those aren't real dogs, anyway, especially the ones in the middle. Those dogs are housedogs from Snob Hill, the ultimate traitors to all of dogkind and the embodiment of our opposition. They even played a part in murdering our friend Cruella here." Bristling with anger, Vendella growled, "If you do see them, make sure to turn them into kibble."

"They can do that all right!" the guard said excitedly. "Just like they ripped up that fox I told you about!"

Smirking, Vendella drawled, "Well, do that to those sorry specimens and I will personally ensure you rise up to the top of the pack in no time. You too, Carcass, if they prove to be anywhere as good as you said they are."

"Thank you!" the guard dog said as he began to pant excitedly.

Returning her attention to the puppies, she asked, "Anyways, if you're not from here, where are you from?"

"We're from De …" Rebecca begun, but caught herself and mumbled, "We're from Scotland. I am the top dog of the gang there and we have set out to gain more power."

"But not just from Scotland," Carcass yelled, his eyes alive with excitement. "They're from a place called De Vil Ville!"

Vendella stared at the puppies intently whose hearts began to race, knowing that their story was about to be subject to more scrutiny. "I didn't know there were any Scottish De Vils," she said thoughtfully. "What did you say your name was?"

"Oh, um, I'm Rebella De Vil," Rebecca said nervously. "I was born as a carriage dog for Judge Dimsdale De Vil who ran the town, but he's a long time deid now. With him gone, I struck out to find a crew of me own, and we wreaked havoc all over the wee villages."

"We sure did that all right," Scamp added, trying his best to copy Rebecca's dialect along with that of his Uncle Jock. "We pulled off some bonny wee heists and tricked all the dogcatchers in the village."

"We then expanded our horizons to do the same to these parts," Rebecca said maliciously.

"Aye, and so far, it's been a hoot, beating up loads of housedogs. We pounded some pit bulls, throttled some terriers and mangled some mastiffs just to get started, choking them by their collars," Two-Tone smirked. "But that fox was the best. It never stood a chance against us!" she said, and knowing what to do next, the puppies all pretended to salivate over the memory, letting the jerky breath out.

"I still love the taste of that flesh rotting in me mouth," Patch threw in as the others growled happily.

"I can definitely smell your success," Vendella sneered. Turning to Rebecca, she then said, "And I seem to recall there may be a Dimsdale De Vil in the family," Vendella paused. "Tell me about your branch of the De Vils."

"Aye, I will tell ye what I know," Rebecca bowed, wondering how she could possibly get out of this, but at that moment, the door opened, and they turned to see that Bruce, Casey, Joe and Harley entered the room, all four of them looking extremely frustrated.

"Ah, just the ones I wanted to see," Vendella called out as she got off the chair and stood in front of the curtain. "How are you bumblers doing with that housedog scum?"

"We saw the Snob Hill families, the Dalmatians and the one with the ex-streetdogs," Bruce said. "We finally got them out of the house and saw them on the streets … Twice!"

"Vendella stared at them intently. "Well? Where are their bodies?"

"Well, uh … You see," Joe muttered.

"It's all their fault!" Casey moaned. "These guys were too slow!"

More like you were scared of mere puppies," Harley shot back.

"Do you mean to tell me," Vendella asked slowly, "That you were defeated by a bunch of housedogs?"

The four dogs didn't reply, causing Vendella's smirk to widen before she broke into a loud cackle eerily similar to that of her former pet. "Pathetic. While you guys went on your sorry misadventure, Carcass here managed to bring in this gang of ruthless puppies to the cause. Why the bosses ever promoted you is beyond me." Beckoning Rebecca over, who reluctantly complied, Vendella said, "I'm gonna take this puppy gang's leader to meet General Fang. Make yourselves useful by taking the others to their quarters, anywhere will do. Oh, and by the way, General Fang will want to talk to you once I tell him, so you might want to come up with an excuse better than the lame one you tried on me."

And with that, Vendella, still smirking delightedly, led Rebecca beyond the red curtain. Worriedly, Two-Tone took a step toward Rebecca, but Lucky stepped on her tail to hold her back. Turning to see Lucky's serious expression, Two-Tone understood, remembering that in this environment, every dog was out for themselves and that any sign of concern would immediately arise suspicion, while Danielle gave her a comforting nod. So reluctantly, Two-Tone held back, hoping that Rebecca would be able to get back to the rest of them soon. Luckily, none of the wild dogs seemed to notice anything. "This way," Bruce commanded, and walked over to the wall on the other side of the room where yet another guard dog was stationed, who moved over to reveal a narrow, dark passageway.

Following the four wild dogs in, the puppies stared at their surroundings. The eerie dusky surroundings couldn't help but rattle the puppies, and subconsciously, they felt themselves drawing closer together as they silently walked. Bruce slowly said, "Well pups, now you're actually gettin' to meet some real dogs," he said boastfully, adding, "Includin' the coolest, right here."

"I'll say," Joe snorted disdainfully. "We ain't like those other losers you saw. Don't judge us by prissy Vendella bossin' us 'round in her chair and those stupid guards rollin' over for her."

"Just you wait Vendella," Harley sneered maliciously. "When the bosses ain't lookin', we're gonna tear up everythin' in your whole frilly room, startin' with you yourself."

"Rip off her tail!" Casey began to shriek as Bruce, Joe and Harley started to guffaw uncontrollably. "Tear off her nose! Bite off her ears! I want me some blood, blood, BLOOD!"

At once, Bruce, Joe and Harley menacingly howled in appreciation, but then Harley looked over and saw that the pups' reaction lacked their extreme enthusiasm. "Whatsa matter? Ain't that funny?"

"Uh, boss ain't here to tell us what funny," Angel said, mustering the most boorish voice she could.

"Ah," Harley said as the others looked at Angel thankfully for her quick wit. "Don't worry. You'll get your sense of humor real fast, pups," she said with a malicious grin.

"Besides, brains ain't what get you far here. What does is being tough and vicious," Joe said, showing off his own muscles as he spoke.

"I'll say, but these guys don't need to be told that," Bruce said, before turning to the puppies. "You know pups, I can't believe you ate that fox whole, with no blood left or anything."

"Yeah!" Casey shouted angrily. "The least you could've done was save me some! I'm hungry! Hungry! Hungry! HUNGRY!" shouted Casey as he jumped up and down, writhing as he glared at the puppies enviously.

"Will ya shut it you nutcase?" Joe shouted to Casey irritably. "You annoy me enough with your stupid fast talking!"

"Who're ya calling a nutcase?" Casey screeched. "I'm no nutcase! And my talking ain't stupid! You're stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"Ignore those fools," Bruce smirked to the pups. "They can't work together unless I say so, isn't that right, boys?"

At once, Joe and Casey stopped growling at each other and paid rapt attention to Bruce. "Yes boss," the two said at once as Harley smirked.

* * *

Meanwhile, XL had dug himself further into the ground, ensuring he wouldn't be smelled by the wild dogs. Knowing that being uncovered could quickly ruin everything, it was only after he heard the abatement of Carcass' gloating upon recruiting the puppies when he finally stopped digging. "I better get back now," he said to himself. Burying his way through the ground, upon digging up, he realized that he was right in front of the dog's headquarters. "Dang it, I dug the wrong way," XL thought to himself, "And I can't run back, the wild dogs will surely see me then."

As XL looked around him, his heart stopped as he saw the large foot of a guard dog just a bit to his right. Frantically, he returned underground and dug to the left. To his shock however, he saw had dug towards what appeared a large metal pipe just under the surface. Seizing the opportunity to hide, he rushed in. Looking back to make sure no one noticed anything, XL walked through the tube, wondering if he could make it back through its exit. There was a low level of water running through the pipes, washing not only his grey paint away but also the orange paint as well, for his fur was actually pure red with a small blue tuft on his head. However, as he walked through, he couldn't help but notice that apart from the atmospheric noise, he felt that the pipe was rattling below him, a hunch that was confirmed when he saw that the water's flow seemed to reflect that of the noise's. Puzzled, he moved forward as he felt the pipe wind around and then abruptly start to ramp up as the strange rattling continued. But then he heard a sound. Pausing nervously, XL laid down and placed his ear on the bottom of the pipe, submerging his entire body in, to get a closer listen and to his shock, he realized that a chorus of muffled and garbled moans, whimpers, and cries rang out below him.

"SHUT UP!" a booming voice shouted, jarring the pipe and splashing his forehead. Getting up, XL muttered, "I've got to tell Rebecca and the others," he whispered, shocked, and he began to run and splash through the pipes.

Climbing up the ramped piping, he noticed it became flat again. Taking a few steps forward, he then saw a hole just barely large enough for him to squeeze through was at the base of the pipe a few yards away. Creeping toward it, he looked down and realized that he was near the ceiling of a dark passageway. However, before he could take another step, there was a sudden sound from somewhere not too far away.

"You done yours?" a small, raspy voice yipped.

"Yes. You done too?" a similar one asked. To XL's horror, the voices only seemed to be drawing closer to him, and based on their echoes, he knew that there was only place where they could be possibly coming from.

"Good. Let's get back to base," the first replied and then once again, XL began to feel the pipe rattle with the sound of paw steps and ever louder voices … with the sound of even more footsteps coming from behind him …

* * *

The sounds above were not unheard for right below them was the narrow hallway there the four wild dogs and the disguised puppies were continuing to walk through. Scamp heard an odd rattling sound come from above him. Looking up, Scamp suddenly realized that above him there was an expansive set of pipes winding throughout the building, and all the while occasionally sputtering a few drops of water. With a domino effect of nudging each other to look up, they quickly found out that they had to avoid the dripping at all costs to make sure their paint wouldn't be removed.

"Come on pups, we're almost at your quarters," Bruce sneered as they finally approached the end of the long winding passages. Proceeding into a wider space, they entered into a web of small rooms. Peering in, the rooms appeared to consist of sunken mattresses, each of with tattered bedsheets. They stopped finally at a door slightly ajar midway down the hallway.

"Here ya are, ya quarters," Joe sneered. They entered the room, which like others had, the same grim furnishings as in the other rooms, and upon closer inspection, saw a dirt pit stashed away in the corner, which still reeked of the waste of the previous occupant, as well as several thoroughly chewed up short stools. Turning around, to their astonishment, they saw that the four dogs were still watching them.

"Well?" Casey snapped. "Whatcha waiting for? Hurry it up already!"

"Whatsa matter?" Harley sneered. "Don't tell me ya housebroken."

"No, ugh!" Danielle shouted, glaring at them. "How dare ya!"

"Well, make sure ya mark your territory well pups," Joe warned, pushing open the room.

"Or you suckers won't have a place, place, place!" Casey leered.

"We forgot," Patch said simply. "We so cool we never get challenged."

""Yeah, anyone who tries takin' our digs'll be sorry," Lucky warned.

Bruce smirked. "Just the kinda attitude I love." The wild dogs were still watching expectantly though, and knowing there was no way around this, they each spread around the room, and proceeded to mark their territory as well as they could. Ignoring them, they were relieved to see that the wild dogs looked satisfied. Bruce said, "We ain't got more time, so see ya round."

Quickly, the wild dogs ran off. A few seconds later, Cadpig carefully walked over to ensure that they were gone, and upon seeing them turn the corner, quietly shut the door. "How come," Cadpig asked exasperatedly, "These jerks have to keep falling lower and lower! How are we ever gonna keep up the act?"

"I'll say!" Patch replied. "We've had way too many close shaves."

"If Wilder finds us, we're dead meat," Puffball groaned.

Scamp however looked up and heard more rattling sounds coming from above, and looking up, saw that the piping continued. "Does anyone else hear those sounds up there?"

Pausing nervously, everybody stopped to listen, but upon this, couldn't hear anything. However, in the silence, they heard voices coming down the hallway drawing steadily nearer them.

"I'm gonna check it out," Lucky said determinedly. Crouching down, Lucky put his ear at the crack of door.

"This is so awesome!" a voice said.

"Yeah, see what you get by following me guys? Sure beats life on that lousy farm," responded another voice, eerily cocky and confident.

"Hey, I think I smell something …" said a third voice, before the second interrupted.

"You're prob'ly just smelling Whizzer again," the second voice said impatiently. "Now come on. Let's get to the wreck room."

As they walked away, Lucky, his heart pounding, looked over and saw that Two-Tone, Cadpig and Patch were approaching him. Realizing his mouth was wide in a gape, Lucky shut it as Cadpig asked, "What is it, Lucky?"

"Yeah," Two-Tone said. "What's out there?"

Lucky sighed, looking around, still completely shocked. Evidently, the wild dogs' recruitment efforts went far beyond what he ever expected to something far too personal for comfort.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hi! I'm pleased to say that at last, I've got the next chapter up and ready. I must say, this one was quite daunting to write since there is so much happening in this little bit of time, and I wanted to make sure that I got to cover everything that needed to be covered at this point. But at last, it's done now! Thanks so much to XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for their favorites/follows/reviews, and as always, Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians belong to Disney.**

Chapter 28 – Inside The Lair

"What?" Patch asked, aghast. "You're joking!"

"No, I'm serious guys," Lucky said concernedly. "Mooch, Whizzer and Dipstick have joined up with the wild dogs. It's them, I know it!"

"I shouldn't be surprised," Cadpig sighed sadly, shaking her head. "I tried my best with him before, but it's in Mooch's inner nature to find pleasure in hurting others, and as for Whizzer and Dipstick, it's in their nature to be lackeys and followers."

"That doesn't mean they're bad though!" Two-Tone replied. "They've just … Went the wrong way, just like I did! Before I … Really got to know you Lucky and all you guys, and know what true love and friendship were!" Sighing and turning to the others, Two-Tone said, "I get why Mooch'd join up with them … But I don't think Whizzer and Dipstick would on their own … I've just gotta bring them back to us … Or else …"

But then, they suddenly heard snickers mysteriously coming from above. Petrified, they looked at each other in terror, as Lucky shouted, "Who's there?"

Hearing only snickers in response, they looked up and saw that from the ceiling, two chihuahuas had jumped out at them from above and landed right in front of them, smiling broadly. "Well well well, looks like we've struck kibble," the first one said in a greasy, raspy voice, "You fakes are very naughty."

"Don't get any ideas!" the other chihuahua shot back in a similar tone. "I heard them first."

"Where … Where did you come from?" Scamp asked, before looking up and gasping, seeing the answer right before his eyes. "You were spying on us in the pipes!"

"Yes, yes, you fools. You shoulda known this place would be under constant surveillance! Housedogs tried breaking in so many times that we're more than prepared for that! But in the end, they always get caught by our spy force! Thank you though for making me today's top dog, and hey, if you guys are on the wanted list … "

But at that moment, a red blur flew out behind the pipes, and bouncing off the wall, XL flew down and tackled the first chihuahua to the dirt pit underneath. The second turned to attack XL, teeth bared and claws out, but hurriedly, a brown blur swept down, pinning the chihuahua to the ground and breathing intensely, Collette stood angrily on top of him. "Don't you even think about it," she said warningly, and the two of them hurriedly stepped onto the chihuahuas' muzzles.

"All clear!" Collette called out above, and within seconds, Annette, Penny, Scavenger, and after a few seconds of squeezing through, Rolly jumped through. Remembering Scavenger's penchant for finding things, Cadpig said, "Scavenger? Can you find anything on a string around?"

Scavenger quickly obliged, and dug up a small key stashed in the dirt. Throwing it over to Cadpig, Cadpig dangled it in front of their faces as she said, "You are getting very sleepy …. Sleepy … Sleepy …"

Collette and XL then let go of the chihuahuas, who looked thoroughly dazed and slumped over to the ground, entranced.

"Where's Rebecca?" Penny asked, noticing her absence. "Did anything happen to her? Her cover didn't get blown, did it?"

"She's fine, but why are you guys here?" Patch asked bewilderedly.

"It's my fault," Collette said. "XL didn't come back, and I was concerned for him … So we followed … It turned out okay though, no one got hurt. Actually, better than okay, as XL found out something."

"Yeah," XL said excitedly. "I heard some barks and howls downstairs. I think that must be where they're keeping all the prisoners."

"We've got to figure out a way how to get down," Danielle said determinedly, but at that moment, the door opened, revealing a black lab. Eyeing the slumped forms of the entranced chihuahuas and the undisguised housedogs, he shouted, "Fakes!"

"You are getting sleepy," Cadpig said, quickly fixing her attention on the lab, and leaving him entranced in a matter of seconds. "Subconscious mind tricks," Cadpig explained to the others with a wink. "They always work."

Turning to face the chihuahuas and lab, still entranced and slumped over, Cadpig asked, "What are your names?"

"Fuego," the first chihuahua said

"Fierno," added the second.

"Crusher," said the lab, all with the same, monotone voice.

"It's nice to meet you," Cadpig said happily. "What have you been doing?"

"Spying," the chihuahuas answered, while the lab answered, "Patrolling halls."

"Are you the only ones on duty?" Cadpig asked determinedly.

"Yes," they all moaned.

Looking at them satisfied, Cadpig turned to the others. "Looks clear, no one else is spying on us."

"You're sure they're telling the truth?" Scamp asked.

"Yeah, they're in a deep sleep," Cadpig answered. "Hopefully I'll be able to work some of the aggression out of them in the meantime."

"We've got to hurry," Puffball said. "They're bound to send reinforcements as soon as they realize something's wrong."

"Cadpig, may I have the key for a second?" Penny asked.

"Okay," Cadpig agreed, tossing it to her before returning her attention to her hypnotized subjects. Leaping up to the door, Penny stuck the key in the keyhole, checking to see that the key fit. Seeing that it did, Penny pulled it out and gave it back to Cadpig. "This is the room's key, so all of us undisguised puppies will be safe here as long as we keep the room locked. We'll wait for you here while you guys look around."

"Problem is, we've got to get out somehow," Rolly moaned. "And there's no way I can climb up that wall."

"Not even if we offer you a rope of sausages?" Cadpig winked at him.

At that moment, Patch got an idea. "Hey … With all these dogs around, there's gotta be a rope around somewhere for tug-of-war games!"

"I'll try," Scavenger said, slipping off his collar and sniffing determinedly. "Yeah, I can definitely smell some rope somewhere around here."

"We'll find the rope," Collette said. "While you're investigating, we'll throw the rope up the pipe and climb up ourselves and wait for you to get back."

"Except for me," Cadpig said. "I need to make sure these guys stay hidden and hypnotized, and because of the noise you'll be making to get up the pies, you need someone to answer the door to prevent them from checking it out themselves."

"What'll you say to them?" Lucky asked.

"Hmm… I'll say that I'm chasing rats," Cadpig suggested. "It'd make noise and keep me in the room. Plus it'd be natural for them to be there, since they have some work to do in the housekeeping department."

"You can say that again," Rolly snickered.

"I think we're all set then," Scamp said determinedly.

Lucky nodded. "Let's try to cover the place as quick as possible."

Remembering their agreed upon partnerships, Scamp and Patch, Angel and Danielle, and Lucky and Puffball got together. Two-Tone, however looked at Cadpig. "I can't stay here with you, I've gotta get Whizzer and Dipstick back."

"I knew you were going to say that," Cadpig smiled. "And you're right, if anyone can bring Whizzer and Dipstick back, you can."

"Scamp and I will be nearby in case you need help," Patch said.

"I'll distract Mooch," Scamp said determinedly. "Then you can get to Whizzer and Dipstick without him butting in," as Two-Tone nodded understandingly.

So quietly, the undercover puppies except Cadpig filed out of the room. To their immense relief, the hallway was otherwise deserted. As soon as they did, Cadpig gave Penny the key again as she promptly shut and locked the door.

"Looks like Cadpig got to tell them the truth, no one else is patrolling," Scamp said, astounded.

"I know, she's great at this hypnosis stuff," Lucky replied.

Meandering through the hallway past many rooms, they couldn't help but notice how abandoned they all seemed.

"They'd all be out in the main complex," Puffball said. "The guards normally shoo out any stragglers for the day."

"Makes it all the better how there aren't any then," Danielle added. "Otherwise they'd be even surer to check out our room."

The soft sound of their footsteps hitting the dirt floor were the only sounds heard for a while, but a sound was coming from somewhere straight ahead. Proceeding onward, they walked past a brightly lit corridor jutting to the side and passed more sleeping quarters before seeing that a couple guard dogs were stationed there, blocking the path and plainly expressing that this area was off limits. Knowing they had to leave it alone for now if they wanted to check the rest of the hideout without suspicion, they turned back and darted into the bright hallway.

"Nobody really knew what was in that room," Puffball said cautiously.

"Do you think some stairs could be back there?" Patch asked.

"Maybe," Lucky answered. "We've got to let the others know and check it out at some point."

"Guys," Danielle gasped, and pointed at the wall, upon which, everyone's hearts suddenly jolted. A wanted poster, just like the one in Vendella's office, was hanging up on the wall, except that it was blown up to span several yards.

"Whoa, they're really after us," Lucky exclaimed, shaking his head.

"I don't remember these photos," Scamp whispered, looking at his picture sinisterly staring back at him. "Where do you think they got them?"

"Well, they took over the vet's," Angel pointed out. "They're probably photos from when we got our shots."

"No wonder we look like that!" Danielle said, shaking her head. "Still, they've got a tough operation. And it's easy to see why'd they'd hate us, we look like evil mutant aliens in those photos!"

Trying to ignore their mugshot-like photographs eerily staring back at them, they kept on going to which the noise in the background got louder and louder.

Turning another corner, they saw they were standing right next to a small hallway leading to an ajar door, where another guard was situated. Instantly, the guard saw the puppies. Fortunately, this one was expecting them. "'Bout time you noobs start trainin'. Go on," and he got out of the way as the puppies followed into the door.

They entered what appeared to be a giant gymnasium that was filled with hundreds of dogs engaged in determined activity. While there were many adults working out, most of the dogs were puppies, some of them even younger than they were, as well as a few larger adults who were off to the side of the main activity who looked to be acting as coaches.

"It's pretty neat," Scamp sighed, knowing all too well the excitement he first had upon visiting the junkyard and seeing how many could easily feel the same way here. A large racetrack surrounded the premises which dogs were running aggressively around at top speeds, and within its perimeter was a pool that, while extremely filthy and smelly, appeared to be quite popular as many dogs were swimming through the water, splashing with intense effort. Within the pool was an island, only connected to the track by a couple of bridges. On it, a large, square jungle gym was located with many rusty metal bars, upon which many dogs were doing pullups on. Some punching bags were also stationed around the jungle gym, which were all being violently punched and kicked at.

Upon closer inspection however, the puppies saw some things that made them very squeamish. Wanted posters were hung up every few feet, along with posters bearing simple slogans like, "Every Dog For Himself", "No Man Is Dog's Friend", "Real Dogs Rule," "Make Dogkind Strong", "Terminate The Traitors", "Train To Kill," "Time For Revenge", "Leashes Are For Losers", "No Force Is Too Great", and "Blood Leads To Glory". Throughout, giant stuffed dogs, sporting enormous collars and decked out in frivolous hairstyles and arrogant expressions, also were stationed, which were attacked by multiple dogs at once, egged on by a coach. The coaches at the track and swimming pool were aggressively yelling at the dogs, pushing them to run and swim harder and faster, and upon looking more carefully at the running and swimming dogs, the puppies realized that they were carting weight packs on their backs amounting to absurdly high loads. Likewise, they could see that many of these puppies were uncontrollably panting, their expressions seemingly lifeless from exhaustion, and oftentimes they uncontrollably swerved off into another lane. Every now and then, a running dog pushed another runner into the pool and laughed maliciously in triumph, causing the victim to swear revenge. Even more alarming sights were on the jungle gym, where they saw dogs shoving, pushing, hitting and viciously biting each other at great heights, often with only one paw on the bars. Oftentimes, these fights resulted with the combatants screeching and recoiling in pain, and after some particularly painful blows, sometimes caused them to lose their footing altogether and to hurl downward to the hard ground. To cap off the creepy factor, random screams of pain rang out that seemingly coming from a few dark rooms on a side wall, after which, a puppy emerged, looking thoroughly pleased with themselves, who then talked to a supervisor who beamed at them in malicious approval.

"What are you doing?" the guard to the room shouted from behind them, who noticed that they were too busy watching to get started. "Get to work!"

Hesitantly, they crept away from the guard. "The wreck room's upstairs," Puffball whispered, pointing to a staircase, and Scamp, Patch, and Two-Tone headed in that direction.

Angel, Danielle, Lucky and Puffball then huddled together.

"So, where's the downstairs?" Danielle asked.

"In the back left corner," Puffball said. "Behind a fighting ring, which is behind the lounge, but I've never got through it before."

"Right," Angel said, turning to Danielle. "Wanna check that out?"

"Yeah," Danielle replied determinedly.

"Right," Lucky said. "We better work out so they'll stop watching us."

"Watch out for the pool though," Puffball cautioned, as Lucky nodded in understanding. "We better run in the lanes away from it so no bully can push us in."

"See ya round," Lucky called out.

The group split up, and as Lucky and Puffball headed toward the track while Angel and Danielle skirted around the edge, looking for the basement.

* * *

Scamp, Patch, and Two-Tone steadily approached the stairway which was located along the back wall of the room. Along the wall, they saw that there was a tall set of closed doors, guarded by another pair of guard dogs.

"The pack meeting ain't happenin' yet," one growled.

Knowing that they had to investigate the upstairs, they kept on going, but not before looking back curiously. "Something's got to be there," Patch whispered. "If they've got someone to guard it." Making a mental note to keep that in mind, the three of them rounded the corner to proceed up the flight of concrete stairs separating the floors. They emerged on a concrete-covered floor that unlike the downstairs, had windows, but were they all covered up by iron bar grids, and were greeted once again by another guard. "Hey! I know you bums ain't worked out yet, so you better get your butts back down there."

"Yes, but we're part of Rebella De Vil's pack," Two-Tone warned. "D'you really wanna mess with Vendella?"

The guard grumbled, cursing under his breath, but allowed them through. Upon passing through, they couldn't help but notice that the atmosphere had considerably changed. While the noise downstairs included the grunts and groans of puppies working out aggressively and the yelling from the coaches, punctuated by the mysterious screams, the noise upstairs was one of wild shrieks and hollers of pure pleasure. Wondering what could cause this sudden change, they soon saw that the long hallway adorned with more wanted posters jettisoned in two ways, each with signs on them, one reading "WRECK ROOM" and the other reading "CATS".

"I'll check out the cats," Patch whispered, darting to the cat room, where another guard was standing. To Patch's surprise however, this one looked grimly gleeful, and seemed to be craning over something, not seem to even notice Patch walk into the room, until Patch walked right in front of the guard. "Move! I'm trying to watch!" the guard shouted, kicking Patch deeper into the room.

A large crowd of dogs was seated in a circle, tails wagging, and all looking away from Patch to the same point where the guard was watching and making raucous cheers and whoops of glee. Within the circle however, Patch could hear some deep, low growls and helpless cries. Not able to see anything, Patch walked around the crowd until he finally got to two puppies that he could peer over, and immediately upon doing so, he wished he hadn't. A wavy-haired red puppy with folded ears, tongue hanging out and eyes narrow like slits, was chasing a silver tabby covered in bruises and slash and bite marks, whose eyes were wide in terror as it ran around, completely surrounded by a mob of laughing, jeering wild dogs. Cornered, the cat shivered as the dog lifted up its paw triumphantly to strike. Seeing enough, Patch's stomach lurched as he heard the sound of an undoubtedly painful slash as a sickening cheer rang out from the crowd.

Walking around the circle, he noticed that at the back of the room was a jail gate blocking off the room's far side. Upon approaching it, he looked inside and couldn't help but gasp. Inside were small, cramped cages of cats, their bodies hunched tightly into the corners of their cages, ears back, and hissing loudly. _"Just like at the vet's,"_ Patch thought, and putting two and two together, he realized what the cats they had found at the vet's were there for and what their fate would have been had they not been rescued. As he sat thoughtfully, he noticed that there were two more guards stationed at the jail cell's entryway, and one of them had caught Patch's eye. Moving over, he growled, "Outta the way, pup. The line for cat torture's full."

Nodding, Patch walked around the other side of the circle, filled with disbelief and horror, as the crowd erupted into a cheer that he didn't want to fathom was for. Holding his head down to the ground to help conceal the revealing expressions that he knew were on his face, Patch took a few more steps before suddenly colliding into something warm and soft. Dazed for a moment, Patch looked up and to his surprise, the wavy-haired red puppy that had just been chasing the cats was also getting up, looking just as bewildered as he felt.

"Sorry," Patch said immediately, his heart beating rapidly.

To Patch's astonishment however, the puppy's eyes were much larger than the slits he had seen before, and his expression was in a slight smile. "My fault," he said friendlily. "Hey, I've never seen you before."

"I'm new," Patch said bewilderedly, in disbelief that this was the pup he had seen before. "Uh, nice chasing that cat."

"Oh yeah, that was fun," he said casually, as at that moment, another dog went into attack the cat. "It's a reward for hard training. You'll get a chance to do it too some time."

"Great," Patch replied, trying to muster up some enthusiasm.

"My name's Bullet," the puppy said cheerfully. "Wanna be friends?"

"Okay," Patch said, amazed that this wild dog wanted to be friends so quickly. They walked out of the cat room and into the hallway.

"C'mon, I'll show you the wreck room," Bullet said. Passing the hallway guards, they crossed into the wrecking room. Immediately, Bullet said, "What do you want to do? Rip up some refrigerators?"

"Um … How about we play some tug of war?" Patch asked. At once he wished he hadn't, for tug of war may very well have been too tame a game for these wild dogs' idea of fun.

To his shock however, Bullet jumped up and down excitedly. "You really mean that? That's my favorite! I just have that one rope in my space ... No one's asked me to play tug of war in ages!"

And quickly, Patch found a rope, and he and Bullet started pulling on. "Just don't go too hard on me!" Bullet exclaimed as Patch nodded. A warm feeling crept through his heart as they begun to tug and as he watched Bullet, who looked even more exciting doing this than attacking the cat.

"This is fun!" Patch cried out happily as Bullet nodded, amazed with how fun it was to play with this wild dog.

As they continued to tug, two male puppies, a black and tan young toy spaniel and an orange and white collie mix approached them and stared at them.

"Hi, my name's Cavalry," the spaniel said shyly.

"And mine's Ammo," the collie mix said. "Sorry to ask, but … Can we play too?"

"Sure!" Bullet exclaimed, before saying, "That's okay, right?"

"Yeah," Patch said. As Ammo joined Patch and Cavalry joined with Bullet and began to tug, Patch felt even more shocked. _"What could make these dogs want to attack us?"_ he thought. As he thought this however, he couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched …

* * *

While Patch was investigating the cat room, Scamp and Two-Tone walked into the wreck room. Passing the guard who carefully watched them, they recoiled a bit as they entered.

"It looks like Buster's old junkyard," Scamp muttered, staring at the heaps of broken and destroyed rubble and demolished furniture lying around.

Two-Tone nodded before gasping alarmedly, "Look!" Beyond most of the piles of junk, a large number of what appeared to be new couches, refrigerators, carpets, pianos, and other large pieces of furniture and appliances were being ripped up and attacked by mobs of dogs. Looking at each other, Scamp and Two-Tone realized that they were both thinking the same thing: that this was undoubtedly practice for home raids.

"Where's Mooch?" Scamp asked Two-Tone quietly. Two-Tone scanned the place, and eventually she saw Mooch, Whizzer and Dipstick, who were busy ripping up a large refrigerator near the room's corner. "There, and that's Whizzer and Dipstick."

Nodding to Two-Tone, Scamp knew what he had to do. As Two-Tone crouched down to stay out of sight, Scamp proceeded forward, passing the various puppies and walked over to Mooch, hitting his back leg.

"Hey, you," Scamp shouted aggressively. He succeeded in getting Mooch's attention, as the teenage grey dog let go of the refrigerator rack he was chewing and turned to smirk at Scamp. "What is it?"

"That's my fridge!" Scamp shouted, stomping down hard with his front paw.

"Say that again?" Mooch dared as Whizzer and Dipstick sniggered.

"It's mine, so give it back, housedog!" Scamp shouted.

Mooch leered at Scamp intimidatingly as Whizzer and Dipstick stood by him. "Fighting words, kid," he said that. "You've picked the wrong dog to mess with, but you've got guts. I like that. Tell ya what. Let's settle this with a race downstairs. You win, you get the fridge. I win, you gotta steal me some extra kibble. Got it?"

"Fine," Scamp shot out angrily.

"Ten laps?" Mooch suggested.

"No way! That's kid's stuff," Scamp replied, knowing the longer the race would take, the more time it would give Two-Tone. "How about fifty?"

"You're really askin' for it," Mooch smirked. Turning to Whizzer and Dipstick, Mooch shouted, "You two stay right there while I beat up this loser."

"Right Mooch," Whizzer and Dipstick said at once as Mooch and Scamp turned to leave downstairs. Once Mooch's back was turned, Two-Tone snuck out of hiding and crept over to Whizzer and Dipstick's refrigerator. However, Whizzer then yawned. "I'm tired."

Pausing, Two-Tone began to rip a pillow as she listened to her foster siblings.

"Me too," Dipstick said. "I'm sick of all this working out."

"Eh, it's okay as long as Mooch is there for us," Whizzer said. "And we've got all the junk we could want."

"Still, we've never been short of junk at the farm," Dipstick said. "Don't get why Mooch wanted to come."

"I dunno either," Whizzer shrugged. "Maybe he wants more stuff?"

Just then, they were interrupted as a well-muscled grey puppy with dark grey short ears, a small tuft of hair, and a lightly furred dark grey tail, green eyes, and speckles on his back swaggered through the junk and approached Whizzer and Dipstick. "What are you two doing loafing around?" he asked menacingly.

"We're waiting for our boss to get back," Dipstick answered simply.

The puppy smirked. "Get back to destroying something, idiots," he said condescendingly. "Or else I'll inform the bosses about this."

"Right Wilder," they said, and Wilder stalked off. Two-Tone gasped, and upon watching Wilder return to a broken couch, she saw the faint similarities to Puffball but still had a hard time believing that he was really Puffball's brother. Quickly however, she returned her gaze to Whizzer and Dipstick. Knowing that Scamp wouldn't be able to hold Mooch off forever, she approached her former gang members, seeing enough and knowing them well enough to know just what to do.

"Ugh, that Wilder is a real jerk, isn't he?" Two-Tone groaned.

Whizzer and Dipstick turned and looked at her, completely unrecognized to them in her black disguise. "Yeah, he sure is," Whizzer said slowly as Dipstick nodded dimly. "Whoa! Cool sunglasses."

Knowing that Whizzer and Dipstick were unlikely to catch onto leading questions, Two-Tone pressed on quietly. "Why are you guys here anyway? You don't seem like you'd like roughing it."

"No, we don't," Dipstick said, as Whizzer nodded. "Our boss said we should go, so we just followed him."

"And he didn't ask what you'd want?" Two-Tone asked slowly.

"Well, uh," Dipstick said nervously, before gasping, "Oh no! You're here to get us in trouble!"

"No," Two-Tone smiled, with a wink. "I'm here to get you out of it."

* * *

Downstairs, Lucky and Puffball walked over to the track, hoping to buy the others as much time as possible, where the nearby coach stared at them expectantly. "Come on, you plodders," the coach shouted. "Get to work!"

"We know," Lucky said exasperatedly. Heading over to the track, they felt the coach immediately place some heavy weights on their back. "100 laps!" he shouted.

Groaning, the two puppies immediately set to work. Carting the extremely heavy weight packs pressing down on them, they struggled to sustain more than a slow jog around the very long track. By the time they reached the halfway point of their first lap, they were already being taunted by many of the more athletic wild dogs working out, and Lucky and Puffball, though able to reply with some in-character comebacks at first, soon became too tired to say anything in response.

"How long have we been doing this?" Puffball growled angrily after crossing the first lap, causing the coach who placed the weights, along with several passersby, to snicker loudly.

"Ten minutes," Lucky answered as Puffball groaned. Seeing Puffball losing his cool like this made Lucky very worried, for as if their slowness wasn't conspicuous enough, he realized Puffball's complaints could self-incriminate him to the coaches, who undoubtedly have heard Puffball react similarly before. Remembering all the times he had to motivate Rolly to keep going, which usually resulted in success, Lucky whispered, "That's ten minutes that the others have been checking things out."

Puffball smiled appreciatively at Lucky as they stopped to take a drink. Although the water was chlorinated and disgustingly murky, they were parched and knew there was no point in asking the coaches for a break or a water dish. Looking very carefully to stand at a part of the edge untouched by water, Lucky drank first while Puffball watched over him to make sure no bullies were planning to push him in the pool.

Being sure to allow only his tongue to touch the water, Lucky couldn't help but notice that there was a slight glimmer coming from the water's bottom. After waiting for Puffball to drink, Lucky then told Puffball, who looked very interested.

"It could be something really important," he whispered softly. "That's why it's in the middle of the place, so everyone would see if someone tries to take it. I'd like to see someone try to sneak it out."

At that moment, they were surprised to see that coming down the stairs were Scamp and ….

"Great, it's Mooch," Lucky warned Puffball. "We better get out of the way. He loves mean pranks and will love to push us in the water."

"You take the outer lane so Mooch won't be able to smell you," Puffball whispered. "I'll tell Scamp about the shine."

Soon, Scamp and Mooch arrived at the track. Lucky and Puffball purposefully paced themselves so they'd be at the track's entrance when Scamp and Mooch arrived, and this effort paid off for they were just a little ways from getting to Scamp.

As they passed by each other, Puffball whispered to Scamp, "Look in the water."

Scamp looked curiously at Puffball, but Mooch said, "Ready to get creamed?"

"Yeah right," Scamp growled. "I'll even give you a lap's head start."

"That's a good one, but okay," Mooch laughed, who took off down the track, giving Scamp the chance to see the shine. As Lucky and Puffball pretended to collapse in exhaustion in front of Scamp to distract the others, Scamp approached the track's edge and looked in the water. Trying to stare through the cloudy water, Scamp laid his eyes on the shine, and fixated carefully on it. Then as a wiry brown grey and dog swam by, upsetting the current, Scamp saw a large blue key was attached to a keyring at the pool's bottom.

"Get a move on, loser!" a voice suddenly shouted, and Scamp felt himself pushed toward the water as Mooch passed by. His heart beating in panic, Lucky and Puffball hurriedly reached out to pull Scamp back up, but not before his blackened back paws touched the water's edge. At once, a small black cloud emerged in the water which quickly dissipated, but the black paint around his paws was gone. Worriedly glancing around him, Scamp saw that luckily no one seemed to have noticed the incident apart from Lucky and Puffball. Thankfully nodding to them, Scamp tore after Mooch, hoping with all his heart that no one would notice that anything funny had happened with the water or with his back paws …

* * *

Walking along the edge of the room, Angel and Danielle steadily headed over to the left side of the room.

"So, the basement's behind the fighting ring, which is behind the lounge," Danielle muttered as Angel nodded. With one of the nearby coaches busy putting weights on Lucky and Puffball and the other busy yelling at the dogs attacking the giant stuffed dog to bite harder, the two of them were able to walk past without any coaches being able to question their movements.

As they passed by the side of one of the mysterious dark rooms, they heard a series of fierce snarls, followed by a vaguely familiar long, low, mournful howl. Before they could react though, a grey and white schnauzer scooted out of the room. Seeing Angel and Danielle, she asked, "Hi! You two new here?"

Nodding hesitantly, the schnauzer smiled. "Nice to meet ya! Have ya had a go at the traitor scottie in there?"

"Oh yeah, we've done him loads of times," Danielle spat out nervously.

The dog smiled. "Serves 'em right, rotten housedogs, for taking away our families. See you round!" before she headed off to the jungle gym.

"What did she mean, taking away our families?" Angel asked Danielle slowly. "And ... Do you think ... that scottie ..."

"I don't know, but … I think that it's … Uncle Jock!" Danielle whispered in terror. As Angel looked at her, her fears echoed, Danielle growled, "We've gotta get him outta there!"

Danielle made a charge to the entry, but reluctantly, Angel held her back. "How can we? There's bound to be guards watching over him and we can't blow our cover," she said sadly.

"I don't care about our cover!" Danielle hissed. "Let me at 'em!"

"Danielle, please," Angel told her desperately. "This could be our only chance, so we can't blow it!" Putting her paw bracingly under Danielle's chin, Angel smiled, "We'll get Jock out, I know it, but we've got to stick together to make it happen! Now, let's find the basement so we can free him and the others once and for all." Danielle sighed and reluctantly nodded.

Flustered with the shocking encounter, Angel and Danielle did the best they could to maintain their composure as they arrived at the lounge door, only reassured by each other's company and knowing that they and the others were doing their best to infiltrate the wild dogs' headquarters.

"Ready?" Angel asked Danielle.

"You bet," Danielle replied.

They entered to find a long room where a large number of dogs were standing around and eating piles of what appeared to be rotten meat scattered throughout on the dirty floor. Flies swarmed all throughout the room.

"Ugh," Danielle whispered, gagging, for next to all of the meat was yet more waste as Angel exchanged a similar look of disgust. Trying hard to not think about the unsanitary conditions any further and stave off the smell of the rotten meat, they noticed that an apricot colored spaniel with a brown nose and thick, bulging muscles was sitting on the stool. Catching the eye of the new entries, he leaped off the chair and walked up to them with a smirk. "I ain't seen you hot chicks around. The name's Chuck, and am I your dream hunk or what?"

Forcefully reminded of Buster's endless arrogant flirting with her, Angel couldn't help but to glare at Chuck venomously, luckily the sunglasses helped conceal her expression. Knowing that it would be good to take Chuck's focus off Angel, Danielle quickly shouted "You're sure forward!"

"I have an eye for fine babes," Chuck sneered. Turning and smirking, he then said, "Tell ya what, let me show you how cool I am."

Following Chuck uncertainly, Angel and Danielle past through the piles of rotting meat before approaching a small group of puppies hiding in a huddle against the wall. In the middle lay a bulky boy basset hound, prostrated out on his belly and looking very fatigued. Nearby was a orange and white girl corgi, a chocolate and white girl pug mix, and a chestnut boy chi-weenie, all of whom were softly talking to the basset hound. "Watch and learn," he smirked. Then he approached the basset hound, who at once, made a huge retching noise and vomited right at Chuck's feet.

"How dare you," Chuck growled indignantly before turning to the whole group. "You lot! All of you! You've been here long enough. Get to work!"

"Tank's got food poisoning again," the corgi sighed as the basset hound moaned. "He needs to rest, and we need to give him company."

"Get up slackers! Back to work! 100 laps, all of you!" Chuck exclaimed.

"We can't go any farther," the chi-weenie said, shaking his head as the others murmured in agreement. "It's easy for you, you don't have short legs."

"Or flat faces," the pug mix added.

"Stupid excuses," Chuck responded. but at that point, Danielle moved in front of them. "Leave 'em alone!" she shouted.

The puppies looked aghast at Danielle, and they weren't alone. Across the room, an awkward silence ran through as puppies' heads turned to look at Danielle as Chuck leered at her. "Looks like you've cast yourself off with the losers," before turning Angel. "You're gonna come with me or what?"

"I'm not your girl," Angel smirked, feeling immense pleasure in saying that once again.

"Suit yourselves, losers," Chuck smirked before returning to his stool. As the hubbub subsided, Danielle felt herself gently tapped, and turning, Danielle felt that the corgi was looking at her expectantly.

"You're cool," she said admiringly. "New here?"

Danielle nodded, and the others smiled. "You've just got yourself in loads of trouble," the corgi continued, "And you don't even know us. Oh yeah, my name's Carrier, but Carrie for short."

"I'm Boots," the pug mix said.

"I'm Trooper," the chi-weenie said. "What about you?"

"Uh," Danielle said uncertainly, looking at Angel, who she knew was thinking the same thing – these dogs all had militaristic names. "Uh … My name's Lou, uh …."

"And mine's Tenant," Angel said quickly, covering up for Danielle's moment of hesitation.

"Neat! You two share a name!" Carrie explained.

"It's because Ang … I mean, Tenant and I are as good as sisters!" Danielle said tensely. "We found each other when we were just puppies, then we met Rebella and formed a pack before joinin' up with you guys!"

"Tell us some stories! Of your pack life!" Tank asked before letting out a wretch.

"Well, there was one time when we killed a fox …" Danielle began.

But at once, Carrie interrupted. "No, what we mean is … Tell us of some great times that you puppies have had together! You and Tenant sure are close, so tell us about your whole pack and how close to each other you are!"

Thoroughly taken aback and looking at Angel in shock, Danielle began nervously, "Tenant and I met our … friend … Scout first," she said hesitantly as Angel nodded encouragingly. "He's a real fun guy, who loves to go exploring … And get into mischief … He's kinda immature and clumsy sometimes, but we really love him and he's part of the gang, isn't he Tenant?"

"He sure is," Angel smiled.

"My boy … I mean my friend Private is really cool but he worries a lot," Danielle continued. "Platoon and Lightning have been rivals but are best buds now, after we worked a lot of our problems out with … With Rebella. Cadet is the runt, but she's got a ton of personality. And Rebella and Crossbone help keep us together, so we can keep on having fun and games and keep on loving each other as a true pack of dogs!"

The puppies looked at Danielle eagerly, while Angel said, "Speakin' of the rest of our pack, I better see where they've gotten up to."

"Cool! Can we see them?" Carrie asked.

"Yeah!" Tank said in between coughs.

"Maybe soon," Danielle said hopefully. "Once Tenant finds 'em," as Angel left. Danielle meanwhile continued, "We're a pack that gets along great, and we're together because we really like each other. We're not a pack constantly backstabbing or bullying each other. I guess that's why I talked to Chuck like that, because we don't do that in our pack."

"Don't worry, we're used to it," Boots said. "At least they're with us in trying to get revenge on the housedogs and humans for killing our parents."

"Housedogs and humans killed all your parents?" Danielle asked, shocked.

"Oh yeah," Trooper said. "That's why the bosses gave us names, because our parents never gave us any and we grew up in the pack."

"I want them to get a taste of what I'm feeling!" Tank exclaimed as he vomited again as the others nodded in fervent agreement.

Quickly wanting to change the subject, Danielle continued, "Well, we don't fight like that in our pack. We're a pack who are always there for each other when we need help, who treat each other like we'd wanna be treated, and so close with each other that we feel like family."

Sighing, Carrie said, "I wish the bosses can be more like that sometimes."

"Me too," Boots said as Trooper and Tank nodded, as Danielle watched them in disbelief. _"How could they be this nice but still want to hurt Uncle Jock like that?"_

* * *

Slipping past the group of puppies, Angel looked back as she stood by the back door of the lounge. Seeing that Chuck was busy ordering a group of puppies out of the lounge, Angel silently slipped through the door. At once, she noticed that she was in a small, stifling room with a wrestling ring occupying most of it. In the wrestling ring was a muscular brown dog with a black muzzle, black saddle on its back, and black ears and paws, pacing around the ring restlessly. Knowing it would be best to remain hidden, Angel rarely even glanced at this dog, but couldn't help but notice that he was sporting a chain around his neck on with an orange key attached to it. Curious but patient, she silently left the room unseen as the dog continued to pace.

To her excitement, Angel saw that upon turning she had arrived at a long wooden flight of stairs. _"Here goes,"_ Angel whispered to herself.

Making sure no one was watching her, she purposefully walked down the stairs before finally ending with another door, which was luckily ajar. Slipping through, Angel saw that the room she had entered was a very dark hallway, with a cold concrete floor. Upon her eyes adjusting to the darkness, the first thing she saw was a large steel door with a large keyhole. Walking over to it, she tried pushing the door open only to see that it was closed. Jumping up to press the handle, the handle too did not budge. Finally, she decided to look through the keyhole to see if she could see what was beyond the door, and saw only that the hallway continued from beyond it, with nothing else visible.

It was then when Angel realized that some of the noises she thought had been hearing upstairs were actually in the basement, and walking back, she realized that they were coming from her left, where another door was situated. Listening in, she could make out that a strong, angry voice was ringing through the room, followed by murmurs of what seemed to be a crowd. Wondering what this was, she was about to try to jump at the handle when …

"Attention!" A megaphone suddenly rang out, causing Angel to freeze, her heart racing. "A mandatory pack meeting will be held in the speech hall. Arrive there or else!"

Hearing the speaker and crowd stop and the sound of paws approaching her from the room, she tore up the stairs, eager to alert the others to what she found.


	29. Chapter 29

**Hi! Sorry for the longer wait on this one, but at last, I've got it through. Thank you to XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for all their comments, and if you haven't already, please review the chapter! Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their worlds belong to Disney.**

Chapter 29 – Speech Hall

Racing up the stairs Angel darted into the lounge to find that most of the dogs had left, with the last few left crowding around the door to get out. Danielle deliberately hung at the back of the crowd, waiting for Angel to come, and breathed a sigh of relief as she arrived.

"Find anything?" Danielle whispered.

Angel nodded, trying to avoid Chuck's gaze as he swerved around for any stragglers. Leaving the room, they saw that a huge crowd of dogs gathered around the back wall, with the few dogs that had been still working out being shoved out by the coaches, while other coaches and guards stationed themselves at the base's exits, undoubtedly to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the premises while the meeting was going on.

Searching through the crowd, Angel caught eyes with Scamp, who hurried over to join them, thoroughly tired. Seeing that the large crowd was loudly and excitedly chatting to each other in anticipation for the meeting, they knew they had the opportunity to talk to each other without anyone noticing or hearing them, so long as they kept their voices hushed.

"I found Mooch, and got him away from the others by challenging him to a race down here," Scamp muttered, panting exhaustedly. "And I saw Two-Tone get to Whizzer and Dipstick."

"Nice job Tenderfoot!" Angel beamed at him. "Where's Patch? Wasn't he going with you guys?"

"He went to check out some cat place upstairs," Scamp began, but right as he said that, they saw Patch coming down the stairs, with a rope tied around his neck. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "I thought I'd never see you in this crowd!" Turning to them, he asked, "You've seen any of the others yet?"

"We're … Right here," came a voice behind them, and Lucky and Puffball waddled up to them, before collapsing on their bellies.

"You're all right?" Danielle asked Puffball concernedly.

"I'll be okay," Puffball said. "Just a tough workout. Found anything?"

Nodding silently, Danielle whispered, "Angel's gonna explain."

"Great," Lucky whispered, but he looked around concernedly as he quietly asked, "Where's Two-Tone?"

Scamp and Patch looked at each other concernedly. "I saw her get closer to Whizzer and Dipstick," Scamp said nervously.

"And I was checking out the other room upstairs," Patch added.

Lucky didn't say anything. He frantically looked through the crowd, but not once did he see her, Whizzer, or Dipstick. _"_ They've gotta be deep in the crowd, or talking somewhere in private," he muttered tensely.

"We'll find her soon," Patch said reassuringly, trying his best to remain optimistic for his brother's sake.

Lucky nodded slowly before saying, "Where'd you get that rope?"

Patch said, "In the wreck room upstairs," Patch explained. "I played tug a war with some wild dogs, they were really nice," Patch said sadly. "It was weird, because one of those nice dogs had just mauled a cat. They've got a whole room for cat torture, it's like a sport where they watch it and wait in line to attack the cats. That's gotta be what the cats caged at the vets were gonna be used for."

As they all looked at each other darkly, Danielle added, "That's funny, I met some nice ones too," she explained. "And some real meanies." Muttering, Danielle said, "They've got Uncle Jock locked up in a dark room and it seems like he … he … he's!" Danielle began as Angel nodded darkly, confirming the others' worst fears. Their hearts pounding, they were finally relieved as Lucky asked, "Hey Angel, you got to the basement?"

Angel nodded, and beckoned the others over to all be within whispering range. "Yeah. There's a small room with two doors," Angel whispered. "There was some kind of talk going on in one, and the second …" she paused before saying, "Was a thick metal door that was locked. It had a big keyhole that you could see through, but you could only see more hallway beyond it."

"XL said he heard the noises just when he got in the building," Lucky muttered. "That means the prisoners are right underneath the front of the building."

"And all you saw was a hallway behind the locked door?" Patch asked as Angel nodded. "It looks way too suspicious for only a hallway to be behind it."

"It's gotta lead to the prison," Danielle said determinedly. "We've gotta look for that key!"

"I saw a key that was being worn by a coach," Angel said. "But it's way too small to be the key to that door."

"We did too!" Scamp exclaimed as Puffball and Lucky nodded. "It was chained up at the bottom of the pool, but it can't be big either."

"Maybe they're decoys," Danielle suggested, but a second later, she shook her head. "Nah, they're guarding them too heavily for that. I wouldn't wanna be drowned by a coach trying to get that underwater key loose, or try to rip one off a coach's neck!"

"Yeah," Angel whispered. "They're way too protected for decoys. There's no way anyone can get those keys without being seen, so they're bound to be important."

"Well then … Maybe this place needs lots of keys to get through!" Patch suggested. "They never make it that simple on a Thunderbolt episode."

"That makes sense!" Scamp said. "We've got to find more keys before they find what we're up to!"

"We've gotta get that big key first if we wanna unlock that hallway," Danielle said determinedly. "Anyone seen a big one?"

Pausing thoughtfully, they all shook their heads, except for Puffball who muttered, "Wait …"

The others turned excitedly, but he whispered, "I'm not sure."

"Come on Puffy," Danielle said encouragingly. "Tell us!"

"Well," Puffball said doubtfully. "There's a big grey key in the meeting room we're going to when I was here. It was on the back wall of the stage."

"That makes sense," Patch said excitedly. "No wonder why they shut the doors and put guards there! That means that our only chance to get it is … in the meeting … When everyone would be there to see us …"

"Speaking of which," Scamp said, pointing, and at that moment, the room's doors opened, and at once, the massive crowd of dogs slowly started to file into the room. Jostled around by the crowd, they were then stopped as one of the guards stepped in front of them.

"You lot, follow me," he said simply, and silently, he left his position and pushed through the crowd as the puppies followed behind him. They had entered what seemed to be a rusty, old auditorium. There were no chairs, and thus the dogs that were seated were all on the floor. A stage was in front, just a couple feet off the ground, but it was mostly blocked off by a black curtain that read "CANINE LIBERATION FORCE" in bloody red letters. A teenage white dog with large black patches was on stage, hurling insults left and right about housedogs and humans on stage, warming up the crowd who cheered along. The guard stopped at the front row, and said, "The bosses want to call you newbs on stage at some point."

Looking at each other darkly, the guard looked at them in surprise. "Whad'ya expect?" he asked. "Newbs always get initiated."

"Oh, yeah," Scamp said nervously. "We forgot."

The guard huffed away as the rest of the audience settled in, making cries of excitement and anticipation. At this point, being so close to the front of the stage, with the speaker and lots of guards posted and many dogs cramming by them to get the best view possible, they knew it wasn't safe to talk.

Then abruptly, the crowd silenced and the speaker got off the stage and a moment later, the curtain began to rise. Craning over to look at the back wall, they noticed that a large gray key, as long as a puppy was from nose to tail, was hanging on a hook. Silently, they looked at each other excitedly, but with a sense of apprehension. It looked like it was just the key that would fit in the basement's door. Still, getting it would be difficult. There seemed to be no way to get to the key without being noticed, for they'd have to go all the way to the back of the stage.

While they were looking at their task, they noticed that the crowd broke out in an excited rumble. Turning around, they saw that a procession of dogs was confidently strutting to the front of the room. At the front was a deep brown molosser-type dog, holding his head up high, and sporting a huge underbite. Following him was Bruce, Casey, Joe, and Harley, who were then followed by two giant guards carrying a large box with a black blanket draped over it. They took the stage to wild cheers from the audience, and they smirked out at them, enjoying the power that they felt.

"Ten-hut!" the brown dog shouted as he glowered and faced the crowd. Upon this, the puppies realized that this dog must have been the General Fang that Vendella had mentioned. To their horror, they then saw that General Fang was staring right at them. "You too, losers!" he shouted, causing many snickers amongst the crowd.

Looking around, they saw that the rest of the crowd were all saluting the pack leaders on stage. Quickly saluting as well, the wild dogs on stage smirked before lifting their heads back and howling loudly. The crowd immediately followed suit, resulting in a deafening chorus of howls ringing through the room as each dog belted out howls as loud as they could. The leaders then howled and howled again, getting steadily more ferocious, as the crowd did their best to imitate them.

"Great, great. Don't ya just love to show off your wild sides?" General Fang exclaimed to the crowd to vigorous cheers. "We've just talked with the bosses, and they say we're making great progress to creating the revolution that'll change dogkind forever!"

As another round of gleeful howls rung out, Danielle and Patch turned to look for the friendly puppies they had met previously, wondering how they were reacting to this. To their shock, they saw that they too were howling loudly, malice just as alive in their eyes as it was with every other dog in the room. When the howls finally subsided, General Fang continued, "We've made great strides forward! The establishment is crumbling, for housedog after housedog and human after human are falling to our unbeatable strength! But …" he paused, and at once, the attitude became more serious, "We still have much to do! Ya better be working hard, building up ya strength for when you'll join our street forces, as we've got lotsa opposition to face!"

At once, the crowd booed and jeered loudly, and at that point, Joe stepped on a button on the stage, and at that moment, a projector screen came down. Abruptly though, the projector screen stopped halfway down, a few yards off the ground .

"Ugh, technical difficulties," Bruce shouted. Casey turned to Joe and shouted, "Your fault! Your fault! Your fault! You busted it, clumsy!"

"I did not, and stop with the repeating talk, shrimpy!" Joe shouted.

"Shut up you two," Bruce growled. "I'll take care of this." He then went to the back of the room to leap up at the projector screen's bottom, desperately trying to pull it down.

Meanwhile, Joe and Casey continued to argue, egged on by Harley, while General Fang went to speak with the guards standing next to the cage. The crowd then began to talk amongst themselves, giving the puppies another opportunity to talk.

"Hey Patch," Lucky whispered. "We can use that rope you have! We can make a loop and hang it on something to make our getaway."

"Great idea," Patch muttered. "Where …" But then he smiled. "The projector bar on top sticks out a bit! So we can use that… But how …"

"I know," Angel whispered, pointing up. The others looked, and saw that at the top of the room, about a foot below the ceiling, were some large wood panels. "We can cross the panels to get across!"

"This is dangerous," Puffball said, looking back. "The panels stop as the room does, so they'll see us as we leave the room."

"Yeah," Scamp said sadly, "But I think it's our best shot, so we better try it!"

"Yeah, we've gotta do something," Danielle agreed, before embracing her boyfriend and saying, "We'll be fine, promise."

Puffball sighed before saying, "Okay."

"I'll get the rope ready," Patch muttered, taking it off his neck. Together, the others circled around Patch, allowing him to work on the rope away from prying eyes.

Eventually, Bruce finally got the screen down and returned his place, which ended the crowd's conversations. The screen was also a little away from the back wall, blocking the key from view. Seeing that the screen had finally been fixed, General Fang said, "Ten-hut!"

Instantly saluting General Fang again, he continued, "Now let's get back to business and show ya just we're fightin' against." As one of the guards stepped on the ground to press some unseen button, a series of video reels ran across the screen. In black and white, grainy footage, were clips of scenes from the vet's and the pound where the needle is being put into dogs, footage taken from the pound with lonely dogs sadly crying and howling, unable to be heard. The footage continued with the shadows of men in the darkness, lashing whips at a dog howling in pain, footage of a child squeezing a dog really hard, and footage of a mad scientist in a lab, laughing maniacally as he concocted potions. In between these images were photos of humans, cats and housedogs, smirking at the audience. Near the end, they saw a series of housedog family photos, notably including all of Jim Dear and Darling's, Roger and Anita's, and Thomas and Anna's families, all looking their best for the photo and smiling broadly for it. Eventually, this led to a sequence that interspersed these happy photos with footage of a dog getting the needle, with sound effects of loud screams and yelps occurring when the latter scene occurred, and a laugh track occurring during the former, giving the impression that the housedogs and humans were laughing at the dog receiving the needle. As the scenes, flashed by, the crowd watched transfixed, some crying, some growling, and many, many outraged leers at the screen. As the footage ended with a loud scream before an eerie silence, the crowd began to murmur like a horde of angry hornets.

"This is what we're fighting against," General Fang said, as the crowd nodded vigorously. "The oppressive human race. They don't love us as the traitors say. They only see dogs as slaves to abuse and enforce their empire. Those videos are just a sample of the horrors the humans will do to us if we lose this fight!"

Pausing for dramatic effect, General Fang continued, "However, the human establishment and their canine allies do not feel secure. They fear us dogs who don't bend to their will. They fear us wild dogs who won't hesitate to bite their hands off, who are ready to raid their houses and livestock, and show 'em just who's boss. So what do they want? To drive us dogs that remain wild and free to our deaths to keep their empire going. And tragically, they have had much success. They've formed an army of "dogcatchers", who as we all know have been brutally aggressive. So many of you had parents that came from proud packs of street dogs, who never put up with the prissy kennel life and always stood proudly as a real dog. But the humans purged them and so many others, and why? Only one reason, to destroy us real dogs and our way of life forever!"

Scamp, Angel, Patch, Lucky, Danielle and Puffball looked at each other uneasily. So much of what General Fang was saying felt unabashedly wrong, yet the crowd seemed to eat up every word he spat out. "Are we gonna take it?" he shouted.

"No!" the crowd shouted.

"And they're not alone," General Fang continued. "They're in cahoots with the loathsome feline race. The evil cats have mercilessly attacked dogkind since time began, killing our pups and stealing our meals since and only now are we giving them their punishment. Yet what do the humans do? They give them shelter and feed them! Why? Because they both stand against real dogs!"

Pausing again, General Fang added, "But we've got enemies even worse than those, and you know who they are, right?" he asked.

"Housedogs!" the crowd shouted in response before howling angry, causing the puppies to uncontrollably flinch.

"Right!" General Fang shouted. "We can't talk about our opposition without mentioning the evil housedogs. These "dogs", too weak to make it in pack life, have rejected everything that makes a dog a dog and betrayed our proud, wild heritage. And what did they do? They went to live in houses, embraced the leash and collar, and started preaching their so-called values like love, faithfulness, safety, and respectability. In other words, they chose to side with the humans. Generations pass and traitorous families form, breeding "dogs" who paw their noses at us "poorly bred" street dogs that remain true to what it means to be a dog. These traitors' inner dog is long gone now, as they are only empty souls who blindly follow the human establishment's ways. And what's more, they want nothing more than to help the humans in ridding the world of us real dogs, who they see as harming the concept of "dog's best friend being human". Those housedogs like nothing more than to see a freedom fighter, proudly embracing our way of life, to get caught by the dogcatcher and take the long walk at the pound. Ah yes, the more streetdogs die, the happier they'll be."

Pausing again to take in the crowd booing, growling, and roaring along with him, he again asked, "Are we gonna take it?"

"No!" the crowd roared back.

"And so what are we gonna do first?"

"Destroy them!" the crowd responded angrily, raising their front paws up into the air before erupting into another cheer.

"Exactly," he said, puffing out his chest. "Now before you get back to your workouts, I'm gonna leave it up to our Household Homewreckers to explain the action being taken on the raid front."

At that moment, General Fang walked off the stage and a guard stepped on another button. The projector screen flicked before switching to display the wanted poster, inflated to cover the whole screen. Bruce took a few steps forward as Casey, Joe and Harley moved to be right behind him Bruce smirked as he surveyed the crowd, earnestly waiting for him to speak. "Where do we start?" he asked simply.

Immediately, the crowd erupted in violent excitement as Casey jumped up and down himself. "Come on, Brucey! Tell 'em, tell 'em, tell 'em!"

Bruce sneered, before saying, "For starters, our raids are taking this town by storm! Without saving any brutality, we've managed to raid the homes of every housedog and their pet in this town!" he began to wild cheers. "And better yet, we have an over 90% capture rate!"

"Terror is in the wimpy heart of every little housedog," Harley sneered. "Finally, the traitors know our wrath, and that we won't stop until we get what we want!"

"That's right, and we've made no compromises with the housedogs who've only hurt our cause!" Joe began, but Casey interrupted. "Come on! Get to the big news! Big news! Big news!"

Casey's excitement immediately spread to the crowd, who began to murmur excitedly. One voice shouted, "Did ya get the big Snob Hill families?"

The puppies huddled together again, desperately trying to avoid eye contact as the crowd looked at Bruce expectantly, who smirked broadly. "There ain't a single housedog left on Snob Hill," he announced. "They know their end is coming, and we've seen them trying to escape. As we speak, a pack of guards is patrolling the street, ready to rip 'em up if they dare show themselves. While they do have five ex-streetdogs in their pack of traitors …"

More boos, many of which were very loud, swept through the room, causing Angel and Puffball to seize up and Scamp and Danielle to uncontrollably lift their paws. "That have some street smarts, but that ain't enough to save their clan. We're gonna keep an eye out on them, but whether by our paws or by starvin' to death, that kennel club is as good as gone."

After another round of cheers, Joe stepped forward. "That ain't even the best part," he smirked, licking his lips. "Ya know how Bruce said we raided every house? Well, we meant every house including … Those of the most powerful housedogs in town!"

With murmurs of excitement coming from the crowd, Bruce nodded to the guards standing next to the large box. At once, the guards on either side of the big box, diligently standing in place until that point, nodded before they chewed onto either end of the blanket. Walking back, they pulled up the blanket to reveal a cage with a hard concrete floor and thick iron bars, looking more like a jail cell than a dog crate. Inside the cage were three dogs, a giant, bulky tan and black and tan male German shepherd, a slender, black male poodle, and a lean but muscular black and white female border collie. It was a very tight fit for the three dogs inside, all of whom barely had any room to stand as they glared at the crowd venomously. Looking at the wanted poster, the puppies saw that the three dogs were on it, and that they all had famous pets: the German shepherd was the police chief's dog, the poodle was the mayor's, and the border collie was the vet's, but their names were blurred out. "As you can see," Bruce smirked, but he was interrupted by the German shepherd **.**

"I swear, once my department cracks down on you thugs …" the German shepherd began, but was interrupted by the crowd, who booed and howled. Harley smirked. "The cops won't save ya this time, Maxie."

"It's Maximus!" the German shepherd howled angrily, spitting in rage as the poodle and border collie leaned back and the crowd roared in laughter.

"Whatever," Joe said dismissively, and to raucous cheers, he added, "This time it's you and your cop friends behind bars, as we'll be the ones runnin' the joint now!"

"Then we have dear, dear Lancelot," Bruce said, approaching the poodle, who held his nose up in the air, determinedly not looking at Bruce. "What's it like not lounging around in the mayor's office, having filet mignon served on the right food dish?"

"I'm not even going to dignify you ruffians with a response," the poodle named Lancelot said in a cool but very enraged voice.

"So classy," Bruce jeered sarcastically as the crowd cat-called before turning to the border collie, who instantly spat out, "My pet doesn't take care of dogs to help hoodlums like yourselves."

"Well, we don't need you're stinkin' pet anyway, Clara," Bruce drawled in response.

"Can we do it now?" Casey howled, jumping up and down excitedly.

"I'm sure you must've heard our speeches," Bruce said cockily as Clara shouted, "Way too much!"

"Aww, little house-doggy didn't like the speechy-weechy?" Harley taunted.

"Yeah, ya don't like the changes we're gonna make?" Joe continued tauntingly.

Maximus then pawed at the ground and growled, "You're not going to do anything once my pet breaks out and sends you dirty mongrels to death row!"

"Fighting words, aren't they guys?" Bruce shouted as the crowd growled angrily. "I think we oughta show 'em what we think 'bout that!"

The crowd roared its approval and suddenly, what seemed like the whole crowd had jumped over the puppies to get onstage, crowding around the cage to spew insults, scratch them through the bars, spit at their faces and a few even took to slobbering and urinating at the captives' paws. Looking at each other, the puppies knew that in all the commotion, the time had come.

With Patch ensuring that his rope was safely in tow, they crept onto the stage and melted into the large crowd surrounding the caged dogs. Passing through, not one of the wild dogs gave them a second look as they were preoccupied with the caged housedogs. Bruce, Casey, Joe, Harley, General Fang and the guards were in the middle of the crowd, ensuring that they would be in prime position to attack the caged dogs but also were completely blocked off by other wild dogs so they couldn't get to the puppies quickly. Reaching the other side of the crowd without even a glance, the group looked at each other, and checking to see that it was still safe, they charged.

As they ran, their heard their paws beat loudly against the wooden planks, but with all the noise at the scene of the cage, nobody noticed anything. Within seconds as their hearts beat rapidly from the sprint, they saw the large grey key hanging off a hook and leaped at it, only to fall flat on their stomachs.

"It's much higher than it looks," Danielle sighed.

"Come on," Lucky said. "Let's puppy pile!"

Knowing it was their best shot, Patch and Angel kept on lookout as Danielle stood, Puffball got onto her and Lucky got onto him, all keeping themselves as low as possible to allow Scamp to get onto them to jump at the key. As they stood up however, Danielle at the bottom began to pant loudly and felt her knees give way. As they did, Puffball began to wobble, causing Lucky to wobble even more, and as Scamp jumped, he lurched to the right, missing the key by several feet.

"We need better balance," Lucky muttered.

"Let's try a pyramid," Patch suggested. "Three of us can be at the bottom, two on top of them, and someone on top of them to get the key."

So Danielle, Puffball and Lucky stood on the floor, Angel and Patch got on them, while Scamp darted on Danielle and Angel to get to the top. "Here goes!" Scamp muttered to himself, and he leaped up and sunk his teeth upon the large grey key. Angel and Patch leaned up to pull at his back feet to help support him while he pulled onto the key. With great effort, he slowly heaved the key ring up the hook before finally the key and hook came loose. Barely able to support themselves any longer, the puppies collapsed to the ground.

"Got it!" Scamp muttered quietly. While they were protected from view by the projector screen in front of them and the sounds of the cage.

"Well well well, looky here?" came a smirking voice. "It's Luckless and his wimpy friends."

Knowing the voice immediately, Lucky looked up in horror and saw that he was face to face with Mooch, with Whizzer and Dipstick right behind him.

"Wha … How …" Patch began, but Mooch interrupted.

"Wasn't hard to figure out. I could smell loser all over you. Nice seeing you, Luckless," Mooch sneered as Whizzer and Dipstick blindly snickered.

Putting two and two together, Lucky glared at the three of them, his back arched and growled, "Where's Two-Tone?"

"She's back with me, where she belongs," Mooch smirked as Lucky growled.

"No!" Lucky replied, his heart plummeting, before he rounded on Whizzer and Dipstick with a fierce glare, causing them to instantly flinch. "How could you do that?" he quietly growled at them. "You betrayed your own sister and friend! She was just trying to help you!"

"Yeah, help them to be saps," Mooch smirked. "Don't worry, Tones will learn how to be cool again in no time… And she'll be back in the gang, ready to cause havoc with the rest of us."

"No, she won't," Lucky growled in response. Then again he rounded on Whizzer and Dipstick. "Why did you turn her in like that?"

"Oh, you can't give them all the credit, they're too stupid for that," Mooch replied. "I did it, because I know the power we're gonna gain," he said, as Whizzer and Dipstick snickered. "I s'pose you're here to save Tripod, Jewel and Freckles?"

"What do you mean?" Patch asked worriedly.

Mooch answered. "You don't know, Squeaky?" he leered, causing Patch to redden a bit, still sensitive about his late to develop bark. "You must've had some initiation. Ours was to turn them in…. But we're moving onto bigger and better things … Like you guys, at the top of the wanted list! The bosses are gonna …"

"Now now Mooch, quiet down," a smooth voice said, before turning around and realizing that Vendella was standing behind them. "We're not gonna get the credit if we let those louts steal the booty from us," she said, before imitating Casey's hyperactive voice and saying, "I found them! I found them! I found them!"

"Oh, right, Vendella," Mooch said as Whizzer and Dipstick nodded. Patch then rounded on Whizzer and Dipstick. "You're siding with a De Vil, who's human wanted to skin you, over your own family?"

"Don't you dare speak ill of my mistress," Vendella hissed. "But you're lucky. I'm in a good mood, for the bosses will surely promote me for this, and what's more, my revenge is falling right into place. Eight of you murderers of my mistress in my clutches in one easy swoop…" Vendella sighed dreamily, smirking. "It was just too easy."

Seeing the panic-stricken looks on the puppies faces, Vendella smirked. "Oh yes, I've got your other little friends right here," revealing that a cage covered with a blanket was on her tail. Setting it down in front of them, she ripped off the blanket to reveal Two-Tone and Rebecca, both of whom were frantically squirming in the cage.

 **"** Guys! Get out!" Two-Tone wailed.

"Yes, save yeselves!" Rebecca added.

"Let them go now!" Lucky shouted.

"Only if you can bring my mistress back," Vendella smirked. "It was all too easy. I saw through "Rebella's" disguise when she couldn't even recognize a photo of Cousin Ivy … And these guys her reported this one after she stupidly gave herself away."

"It's not Whizzer and Dipstick's fault!" Two-Tone shouted. "I still trust them!"

"Haha, pathetic," Vendella responded as Mooch smirked. Whizzer and Dipstick smirked too, but perhaps it was Lucky's imagination but he didn't see the smirk extend to their eyes. "Now then, where's your little friend, who I presume is that runt Cadpig?"

"We'll never tell you, and you're gonna let Two-Tone and Rebecca go!" Lucky growled, and without a second thought, lunged forward to bite Vendella on the paw. Vendella recoiled in pain but didn't make a sound, still trying to keep her catch from the crowd. She hissed to Mooch, "Get some cages!"

Lucky then gave the others a firm nod and a serious expression. As Vendella prepared to strike at Lucky, Lucky darted to the side, causing her to follow. Getting the cue, Patch drew out the rope and flung the loop to the top of the side of the projector screen, the others surrounding him to stop anyone seeing what he was up to. Eventually, Patch hooked the loop on the side just when Mooch returned, carrying one large cage. "They'll all fit here!" Mooch shouted.

"About time," Vendella growled, still sparring with Lucky, the two of them landing several blows on each other by this point. "You help me lock this loser up."

The others moved to help Lucky, but Lucky shook his head. The others understood what he was saying, that now would be the perfect opportunity to escape, with Mooch and Vendella busy chasing Lucky. Looking over to the cage, they saw that Whizzer and Dipstick were standing guard over the cage, and through the bars, saw that Two-Tone was shaking her head firmly. Knowing that there was no way to save them either, and that they had to get out of here with the key, Scamp, Angel, Danielle, Puffball and Patch climbed the rope hurriedly. As they reached the top of the rope, they proceeded one at a time to step on the projector's ledge, before slipping onto the nearest wooden platform. When Patch was at the back of the line jumped onto the projector however, he gasped. Mooch was dragging Lucky over into a cage. A moment later, Vendella looked up and saw him and the rope. Hurriedly, he tried to pull it up, but Vendella had already got ahold of it. Knowing there was no way he could throw her weight off, and seeing nods from Lucky, Rebecca and Two-Tone, Patch hurriedly jumped onto the wooden platform.

"Vendella's following us," he whispered to the others who were waiting for him.

Gasping, the others hurriedly slunk forward. Fortunately, up here, their small size was an advantage, for while they had to crouch a bit to get through quickly, they were short enough not to be too impeded by the ceiling above. The hardest part was to get from platform to platform however, as there was not enough height for them to jump, so they had to stretch their bodies out from one platform to the other, all the while heaving the heavy key across.

By the time they reached the third platform however, Vendella had gotten to the top. While she was slowed down by her height, forcing her to scoot on her belly across the platforms, she didn't have a heavy key to drag, and her slim sighthound body was also a major asset. Though the puppies increased their pace as they crept across platform to platform, Vendella continually kept up with them.

When they got to the last platform, Scamp felt his leg being grabbed and saw to his horror that Vendella was holding onto it. Hurriedly, the others pulled Scamp as hard as they could, and with a great heave, freed him of Vendella's grasp. Hurriedly, the group jumped off the last platform, and as the guards in the room were all at the front with the caged dogs, they tore out of the room quickly.

Feeling as though a bright light was shining on them as they entered the gym, Danielle whispered, "Hey, do you think we can get Jock out?"

Angel looked around, and saw that in contrast to the gym being full when they first saw him, the gym was almost completely empty, with only a few guards on patrol. "Yeah, I think," she whispered. "Now's as good a time as any." Turning to the others, she whispered. "We'll meet you back at our room. We're gonna save Jock." Knowing that Scamp too would really want to help rescue his uncle, she asked "Tenderfoot, wanna come?"

"Sure!" Scamp said excitedly as he gave the key to Patch. "We'll see ya," he said, as he and Puffball walked back, side by side with the key in between to make sure no one would see it.

As they headed over to the dark rooms, they were interrupted by a guard. "What you doing?"

"Uh … Boss's orders," Angel answered, knowing it was the only thing that could buy them time.

"Right," he said as he lumbered off. To their horror, they saw that he entered the speech hall. "Oh no, he's gonna talk to the bosses," Scamp said.

"Well, you know what that means," Danielle muttered excitedly. "Time to get down to business!"

Together, the three of them rushed over to the dark room. Climbing into the ramp, they saw that the room consisted only of a small passageway in front of a caged pen in the back, where a guard was standing steadily. The guard looked over at them. "You pups can't attack now. Get back to the speech."

"Well, it's just …" Angel stuttered, pretending to be frightened, and in that second, Danielle leaped into the pen. "The bosses have a message for you."

"Yeah, they want to promote you!" Scamp said as Danielle landed. The guard then oohed and aahed as he pressed Scamp and Angel for more details.

Getting up, Danielle looked up and saw that standing by the wall, shaking in fright, was a familiar, old Scottish terrier. She couldn't help to gasp at the sight of him, for he was now emaciated, with matted fur every lying every which way. His body was covered with scratches and cuts, and his once dignified mustache was messily jumbled into a single knot. If it weren't for his collar bearing his name and his wise old eyes, Danielle would've had a hard time recognizing him. He evidently though couldn't see through Danielle's disguise, as he held up a paw and cried out, "Ach, don't lay one paw on me, mongrel!"

"Don't worry," Danielle whispered. "It's me."

Suddenly, Jock gasped, his eyes widening with confusion. "Lassie! What are you doin' here? Don't tell me ye joined these ruffians!"

"Getting you out," Danielle whispered. Seeing a chain tied around his collar, she bit it off and then onto his dusty red collar and hauled him forward. At once, the guard took notice, "What the …"

But hurriedly, Danielle and Jock jumped out, leaving the guard bewildered as all four of them left the room.

"That's Scamp and Angel. We'll explain more later. Follow me!" Danielle told Jock, who nodded.

Moving to surround Jock, concealing him and his collar from sight, Angel, Scamp and Danielle sprinted across the gym. Just as they reached the exit however, a fire alarm began to ring, followed by a downpour of sprinkling water. The next thing they knew, they felt their painted coats fade away, and heard the sounds of countless dogs growling steadily nearer to them as they heard General Fang's voice shout, "IT'S THE SNOB HILL DOGS! GET THEM!"

There was only one thing for it. Dashing into the quarter hallways, they immediately ran into a guard, and missed his angry swipe by matter of centimeters. "They're in the quarters!" the guard yelled.

Running as quickly as they could and hearing the angry mob get nearer and nearer, they reached their door in a matter of seconds. Cadpig, who was keeping watch, instantly pushed the door open.

"Quick! They're coming to!" she exclaimed, looking at the hypnotized dogs, who were beginning to shake their heads awake. Hurriedly, they climbed the rope and pulled it up into the pipes just as they could hear the mob of dogs entering their quarters. Looking in the tube, they saw that everyone who was previously in the room as well as Patch and Puffball were in the tube..

"Well, this sure's not easy," Danielle groaned as she pulled up the rope, the others nodding in agreement. As they went through the piping, part of them not wanting to know what was beyond it.


	30. Chapter 30

**NOTE: This chapter takes place during Chapter 28-29; Chapter 31 will resume where Ch.28-29 left off.**

 **Here's another chapter! Thanks to everyone for reading, favoriting, and commenting so far. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney.**

Chapter 30: CiCi's Lonely Journey

Back at the car, the parents and adults sat anxiously, wondering when their kids would come back to them. At first, they tried consoling each other, reassuring themselves as much as each other that their kids would end up just fine, but they ended up saying that so many times that they ran out of different ways to say it. The cats too remained in the car, trying to get some much-needed sleep to rest up for when they would be needed.

"This place must be enormous if the children are taking this long," Perdita said worriedly.

"If every streetdog that's gotta bone to pick with someone's in there, it's gotta be," Peg agreed.

"With all the housedogs locked up, we're definitely gonna be outnumbered, even if the cats hold some of them off," Spunky said warningly.

CiCi then stood up. "Guys," she said. "I think we better get some more help."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Lady said slowly. "Wouldn't those who would help us already be caught?"

"Lady's right," Pongo added. "I don't doubt them when they say they've captured everyone. The streets do look abandoned."

CiCi however, shook her head. "I'm not talking about dogs or humans. I'm thinking … Well, maybe the wolves can help us out."

"Wolves?" Lady asked concernedly. "But they're wild dogs too, wouldn't they join their side?"

"Not necessarily," Tramp pointed out. "I've known all kinds of streetdogs, and not once have I seen them mingle with the wolves."

"Yes," CiCi added, "And I know these guys are no different, because they fell for my trick… I just want to see if I can talk with them. Do you know where they are?" she asked the others, all of whom looked uneasily at each other.

"They're deep in the forests," Tramp said. "Probably right around here. There are some big hills all over around here."

"Right, well, I better go find them," CiCi said.

A second later, Perdita nudged the beef jerky container to her. "You might want to offer them something. It may make them more receptive."

"Good idea, thanks!" CiCi said, appreciating Perdita's quick thinking and she stuffed a pawful of jerky sticks into her collar. "I'll be back soon, promise!"

CiCi then ran up the hill. As she did, the others watched, seeing her easy, graceful stride, thick coat blowing in the wind, and white body camouflage in nicely with the snow around her.

"Wow, she's something," Tramp said, before stuttering and quickly saying, "Just joking, Pidge!"

"I know," Lady smiled, appreciating Tramp's sensitivity on his old vice. "But you're right … She does look beautiful … She just looks so … Natural… "

"Yeah," Pongo agreed. "The only thing is, will looking natural be enough to make them listen?"

Climbing the hills, CiCi pranced from rock to rock. While it was quiet here just as it was in town, the feeling was entirely different. Rather than the abandoned streets, where the traces of human and dog life eerily remained and there was a possibility of a wild dog jumping out at them at any moment, the hills felt pristine and neat as CiCi's relatively small paws brushed against the snow below her.

CiCi quietly explored the hills for a while until just when she least expected it, a noise occurred. Turning, she saw out of a bush a wolf was advancing toward her. "Halt! No dogs allowed!"

"I … I don't mean you any harm," CiCi stuttered. "It's just … I'd like to speak with your pack."

"No," the wolf guard said simply. "Now get out."

"Please, I'm begging you, this is really important," CiCi spat out. "I'll offer your pack my jerky!"

At once, the wolf looked over thoughtfully. "Food has been scarce as of late. You may follow on one condition, all right?"

"What's that?" CiCi asked tensely.

"That you don't lay a paw on any of us," the wolf answered.

"Of course I won't," CiCi laughed in relief, but the wolf glared at her. "Any of us. Otherwise, you'll have our whole pack to answer to."

"No, I won't, I promise," CiCi said more seriously. "My name's CiCi. What's yours?"

"Pukak," the wolf said stiffly. Looking at her, he said, "Having not seen you before, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt … But one wrong move …"

"I promise," CiCi said, bowing before him.

"Well, what do you know," Pukak said. "A dog who shows respect to a wolf."

"Um … Mr. Pukak?" CiCi asked. Turning, CiCi asked, "You promise you won't hurt me, either?"

Pukak nodded. "I can safely say I speak for the pack when I say by the Star of Sirius, we shall not harm a fellow canine. Now come, we shall listen to what you have to say."

Climbing up a bit further, they came to a small plateau that was surrounded by hills and pines in every direction. Looking over, CiCi saw that this plateau had wolf prints all over the place, but in contrast to the dog prints around town, the wolf prints were much more hidden and subtly placed in the snow. On the left, she saw that there was a large cave which she knew must have been their sleeping den.

Pukak then let out a loud howl. After waiting a few minutes, they were joined by a sizable number of other wolves, all coming in one by one, and they all slowed down upon seeing the guest. "Pukak, that's no wolf you brought in!"

"Silence, Sierra," said another wolf in a solemn, deep voice. His face, CiCi noticed, was grizzled and weathered with many years of age, yet at the same time, his standout feature was his two small but soulful amber eyes. At once, the others and turned and bowed toward him. "Sorry, alpha!"

"That's all right," the wolf said calmly. Approaching CiCi he said, "Greetings. I am Waya, alpha of this land's wolf pack. Whom might you be?"

"Um, I'm CiCi," CiCi said.

"Do you come in peace?" Waya asked thoughtfully. As CiCi nodded, Waya stared at her.

"I see no harm in you," he said slowly. "Come. Let us be seated."

The wolves then moved into a circle, where Waya and the other wolves looked at CiCi thoughtfully. CiCi put the jerky into a pile of jerky on the ground and passed it around to the wolves, each of whom took some and hurriedly wolfed it down. "Your name befits you," Waya said slowly after finishing his piece.

"Huh?" CiCi asked. To her surprise however, a young female wolf standing on Waya's right growled. Though much more limber and less grizzled, this wolf had a strikling resemblance to Waya, and judging by the considerable difference in age, CiCi figured she must be Waya's daughter.

"Sesi means snow where our ancestors came from. And your coat is snowy white," he explained.

To CiCi's alarm however, many of the wolves looked downright furious. Turning to the one on his left, with a jet black back and a hardened expression, he asked, "What would you like to say, Nashoba?"

"Pardon me and with all due respect," the wolf answered, "But we will not stand for our alpha to court a dog."

"Yes," Waya's daughter added angrily. "And besides, no dog can replace my mother!"

CiCi couldn't help but to take a few steps back, acutely aware of the danger she was in. Waya, however, nodded to CiCi, before turning to the wolf on his right. "Do not worry, Sequoia," Waya said calmly. "Your mother is in my heart as much as she in yours … " Then turning to the rest of the pack, he said, "I have no intention of courting anybody. My heart will always belong to Cheyenne, and Sirius' light will lead me to her some day. I am only surprised that this dog has a name so natural for her. And frankly, I am quite surprised how respectful this dog is. Is that why you invited her, Pukak?"

"Yes," Pukak said, bowing. "She said she would like to talk with us."

The pack of wolves stared at CiCi, many of whose stares were very suspicious. Waya's expression however, was impossible to read, but he said, "Now what would you like to talk about?"

"Well … We need your help," CiCi said nervously. At once, all the wolves except Waya looked at CiCi incredulously.

"Go on," Waya said, but at once, another wolf interrupted.

"Why would we help you after all you have done to us?" the wolf said.

"Now Kodiak," Waya said cautiously, but the pack began to growl.

"But I haven't done anything!" CiCi exclaimed, looking at Waya. "Have I?"

Waya sighed, and asked, "Have any of you seen this dog before?"

"You couldn't…" CiCi hurriedly began, but after a firm stare from Waya, she was quiet. The wolves looked thoughtfully at her before slowly, every one of them shook their heads.

"Very well," Waya said. "We must at least to explain to her what we have been through." Sighing, he explained, "Our pack has inhabited the forests of this land for generations upon generations. While we may be the top predators, we have always respected all the flora and fauna around us, eating no more that we need to survive. Time has passed, but we continued with our way of life. Even when humans arrived and brought you dogs with them, we endured. Though we have had our conflicts with you and your humans, most of them brought on by human aggression, we've learned that by remaining in our forests, we could continue our ways just as we always have."

Waya then lowered his head and said, "That is, until recently. The land upon which we depended on has slowly but surely bestowed less and less of its riches on us. The rabbits, waterfowl and occasional hoofed creature that sustain us have become harder and harder to find. For the longest time, we've hoped that this was just a dry spell. But as time passed, we realized what the true culprit is. It is of your kind, who have irresponsibly poached our quarry. Instead of taking just enough to survive, these dogs hunt for sport, massacring entire colonies of prey and competing amongst themselves to see which one has caught the most. Because of their greed and lust for power, we have had great difficulty finding food for ourselves and many of us have starved to death … And in some tragic cases, they have even killed. Most recently my mate, Cheyenne."

"I'm … sorry," CiCi sniffed.

"There's nothing you can do, but if you're as sorry as you say," Sequoia growled, "You'll tell your kind to leave us and our lands alone," as the other wolves nodded. "There are too many of you poachers for us to keep ourselves and our lands safe. Each time we tell you to get out, you come back with a larger pack, killing even more of our prey as well as our own pack members. Now get out there and tell your kind to stop it!"

The wolves looked at CiCi expectantly, wondering what she was going to say next. Hesitating, she said, "Us dogs aren't all alike."

"Really?" Nashoba responded. "You all seem the same to me," he said as the other wolves agreed.

CiCi frowned, realizing how little the wolves knew about the dog world, so she knew she had to start from the basics. "We're all not part of one pack," she explained. "We dogs have spread out into what we call families and homes. I was born in a home in Great Britain across the sea, before at eight weeks, me and my siblings were given to a shelter."

The wolves looked at each other bewilderedly. "That's just how we do things," CiCi quicky explained. "I met my pet, Thomas, at the shelter. A pet is a dog's special human companion, who becomes our new family, which is like a pack. It took some time to trust him, but eventually I did and we grew to love each other. Thomas then met his … Mate some time ago. Her name is Anna, and she was the pet of a cat named Leo. "

The wolves looked at each other, surprised. "Are you saying," Waya asked, trying to understand, "That you … Shared your pack with a cat?"

"I know," CiCi said understandingly. "But he's different from other cats, really. For one, he's a munchkin, which means he has really short legs, but he's also much more social with dogs than most cats," she said. "It took some time for us to get to know each other, but now we're great friends."

The wolves stared at CiCi curiously as she continued, "Then one night, our pets returned home with a baby fox named XL."

"Foxes don't live with humans," Kodiak said matter-of-factly.

"Usually not," CiCi conceded. "Just like you, humans view foxes as dangerous, as do us dogs. Leo and I were scared when they brought him in, but he was just a kit, so how bad could he be? So we gave him a chance and raised him like a puppy."

"Remarkable," Waya said thoughtfully. "A dog who actually respects a fellow canine enough to live with him. Very commendable on your part. I might want to see this XL for myself sometime."

CiCi nodded understandingly before continuing, "Finally, XL, Thomas and I found another dog, a spotted Dalmatian puppy named Scavenger lying frozen on the streets. We took him in too, and then our family was complete … Until recently. Thomas and Anna took us across the sea to live here. We didn't really know what to expect, but we were really surprised when we arrived. Right nearby us is this big family of dogs with four pets between them. There were three adult couples, each as devoted to each other as much as they are to all of their puppies. As soon as I met them, I knew we would be great friends, when I introduced the others, we were just as happy as I hoped. Even though we've just moved in, we really bonded with each other."

Smiling, CiCi continued, "Scavenger's brother is a foster brother to many of the pups. Their pets adopted a lot of puppies who were being chased my a crazy human who wanted to make fur coats out of them … And XL has a crush on one of the girls. There's so much puppy love in that family … My neighbors' pets even adopted two streetdogs for two pairs of lovers to be together forever."

At once, the wolves looked confused. "Streetdogs? What's that?" Sequoia asked.

CiCi paused, for in the midst of explaining everything, forgot just how little the wolves would know. Sighing, she explained, "In our world, there are two kinds of dogs. I am what's called a housedog. You can recognize us by the collars we wear, they're a symbol of our love and devotion to our pets and families. We always live in homes with our pets, where we'll remain as long as we continue to love each other." Taking a breath, she said, "Then there are streetdogs. These dogs do not have a home, and thus have taken to living on the street. However, when a human adopts them, they become housedogs and part of their family. Some of my new friends are ex-streetdogs themselves, and they in turn know many more ex-streetdogs."

Taking a breath, CiCi continued, "Streetdogs respond to their life in different ways, and their reactions often change. Many of them really want nothing more than to be part of a family, but are just unlucky. One of my friends had a really bad case, as she was thrown out of many homes before my neighbors finally gave her a forever home. Some become cynics and seem to give up on life. Some others only focus on survival and don't have passion for anyone or anything else. Others pretend to be proud and tough, but really only want to be loved. Some of them who become really street smart develop a reputation for their skills. One of my friends was like that himself once, before he fell in love and settled down. Then some of them find comfort in one another. Sometimes it happens with only a couple dogs, like two of my friends, who fell in love with each other in a dog pound. Other times, they find it in larger groups, forming packs just like yours."

Wondering how to approach this, she said, "But not all packs care for each other like you do. Sometimes, it's the pack leader's bad influence. Two of my friends were part of a pack where most of the dogs really cared for each other, but their evil leader forced them to hide their feelings and put them on a vengeful, spiteful path. It was only due to my friends' actions that the leader lost his control, but through it all, the others retained their friendship and they all became housedogs together."

Then she said, "But recently, a giant new pack of streetdogs seems to have formed, and one that is really aggressive. They've attacked the whole town, raiding our homes and capturing housedogs and pets alike, and now they're trying to murder us because of how loving a family we are. What seems to unite them is malice, pure hatred and revenge toward us housedogs, as well a desire for power and glory. Lots of them have been indoctrinated in how evil us humans and housedogs are, as well as to boast at how great being a 'real dog' is."

The wolves stared at each other before Sequoia said, "The dogs that have been poaching our quarry call themselves real dogs as well, always in an insulting context."

"Yes," Nashoba agreed. "And your description is alarming. Our scourges too had only just recently appeared and seem to be an enormous pack."

"They also seem to enjoy taking our quarry from us," another wolf added. "They always seem power-hungry considering just how much they kill and how they boast about it."

"Perhaps," Waya said thoughtfully, "Your aggressors are the same ones that we are facing."

"I could see that," CiCi said sadly, "If they were, it would make sense why they would insult you. We know they view foxes as inferiors, so it wouldn't surprise me if they view all canines who aren't dogs like that. Or anyone who isn't one of them for that matter."

"Very concerning," Waya added. "The similarities our foes share seem far too great to be mere coincidence. You must describe to us how you can separate these dogs from others."

"Well, none of these dogs wear collars," CiCi explained, emphasizing her chest as her star-shaped license bobbed back and forth. "They argue a lot with each other, often with mean names and insults. They tend to smell really bad and mark a ton of territory, and there seems to be four dogs who lead them …." Pausing to think how to best describe them considering the wolves wouldn't know what different kind of dogs were, she explained, "Leading them is a big brown and white dog with a pushed in face. There's a brown female dog a little smaller than him who's always smirking. Then there's a pair of them that always fight. One's a grey dog, average in height but squat and loves showing off his muscles. The last one's a hyper little dog, brown and white, who's always jumping up and down and repeating phrases."

The wolves stared at CiCi, before Waya said, "Your description of your foes is undeniably all too familiar for us, and I am certain yours and ours are the same." Looking at CiCi thoughtfully, Waya asked, "I suppose you came here because you would like our help in warding off these dogs?"

"Yes," CiCi said tentatively.

"I see," Waya said cautiously. "Please wait for us. Our pack will discuss this together and will let you know what we have decided."

"Okay," CiCi said nervously. The wolves then gathered together in a tight circle and began whispering to each other as CiCi stood back and waited. Through the hushed voices, she saw from time to time that a wolf looked at her, often with expressions of alarming suspiciousness. CiCi paced around nervously, but then noticed that the trees were suddenly moving, before abruptly, a rabbit burst out of the trees. A second later, she saw something small and light grey dart out.

There was only one thing for it. CiCi moved right in front of the thing, and it crashed right into her leg. Looking down, CiCi gasped as she saw a wiry little grey dog, covered in muck and without a collar, was lying down on the ground. Turning, CiCi stared at the ground, and as she did, the dog's eye caught CiCi's face. "Housedog!" he screamed, but at once, CiCi stepped on his mouth to prevent him from screaming.

The one scream however, was all it took for the wolves to end their conversation and approach the scene. "What happened?" Waya asked.

Instantly, the wild dog squirmed away and pointed at CiCi. "It's her fault! I stopped her from killing your rabbit."

The wolves however, looked at the tracks the rabbit left in its dash to escape. Nashoba went over to investigate them. "Those tracks weren't here before," he said. "And I can still smell rabbit, so it must have just escaped."

"Yeah, exactly," the wild dog squealed, but Sequoia interrupted.

"Then how come," she pointed out, looking at the other side. "The tracks chasing the rabbit are all those of a little dog!"

"I don't know," the dog explained. "Wait … She set me up!"

The other wolves however, moved aside and allowed Waya to approach the little wild dog. "We've seen you poaching far too many times on our land to believe you're telling us the truth. Now get out, and tell the rest of your pack to leave our lands alone. Do you understand?"

The wild dog didn't say anything but tore off behind him as quickly as he could. Nashoba moved at the dog but Waya blocked him. "I think we have made our point very clear."

Turning to the other wolves, Waya asked, "Have we all come to an agreement?"

The wolves all nodded, and so Waya beckoned CiCi to come them. Approaching nervously, CiCi sat down.

"I hope you realize that you are asking a great deal from us," Waya began slowly. "Intervening in any outside conflict can only invite trouble for our kind and entangle us in dangerous alliances. It could also very well mean the end of our independent life as we know it and perhaps far worse. This also goes against our code to respect all forms of canine life. Having said that, we are facing are extraordinary circumstances. These wild dogs are making it next to impossible to live our lives, and we will align ourselves with you under two conditions."

Staring at CiCi intently, Waya began, "For one, after this battle, we request that you not expect any more favors from us. We want to continue our life as it was to the best that we can, and that you respect our desire for peace from any further conflict."

CiCi nodded in understanding before Waya resumed. "Second, you should know that wolfkind and humanity do not have a good relationship. Though we would never understand it, we respect the bond that you dogs share with your humans, and have usually left you to share your bond with them in peace. However, humans have attacked us unprovoked just for sheer pleasure. We have no way to reach them, but we know you do, and we would like it if you housedogs could help convince them to leave our non-aggressive pack alone. While we understand that there will always be a few violators on both sides, we would like it if you and your humans show the same respect that we show you. Are you willing to agree to this?"

CiCi looked at Waya and the others. "We will do our best," she promised. "But you will too. By helping our pets, you'll get some goodwill from them which will reduce incidents."

Waya smiled sagely before saying, "Then it's settled. We will join our canine brethren to fight for our land and way of life against the poachers who have afflicted us and many others for far too long. Is everyone prepared?"

Together, the wolves went into their circle again, but this time, left a spot open for CiCi to join them. As the rising moon rose up in the frigid sky, they howled in unison, and with that, both CiCi and the wolves knew that they got a little farther up the high, steep mountain they knew that they must climb.


	31. Chapter 31

**Whew! This was a hard chapter to put together, but I'm glad to finally have got it done. Thanks so much to XLR8 the Fox for all his help in writing the story, especially for his characters, especially CiCi, XL, Scavenger, and Leo. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their worlds belong to Disney. Please review and please favorite/follow if you like this story and haven't already, all feedback is greatly appreciated!**

Chapter 31 – Readying For The Showdown

In what turned out to be a quick journey, CiCi returned to the car, with the band of wolves right behind her. Still, CiCi couldn't help but see that many of the wolves were still looking suspicious. "If this is a trap of any sort … If we see one gun …" Neshoba began, but CiCi shook her head.

"They don't have any," CiCi cautioned. "But you've got to approach them carefully. In fact …" CiCi paused before saying, "Sequoia, why don't you come with me first?"

The other wolves however didn't look very pleased, Waya too looked uneasy. "She's our hope for the future and the next alpha, we cannot let her go alone with you," Kodiak responded.

CiCi sighed understandingly, but she pressed on. "Dogs are scared of wolves, so it'd be best if they just meet one wolf first before they meet you all. And Sequoia's the youngest and smallest of you, so she'd be the best to get them to listen to you."

Most of the pack grumbled, but Sequoia stepped forward. "We must find a way to stop these wild dogs," she said, "And I see when I have a calling."

"But …" Neshoba interrupted, but Sequoia said, "If we're going to solve this, we've got to work with anyone who is willing to help."

"I see your wisdom, my darling daughter," Waya said, wrapping a paw around her to give her a hug. "Just be careful."

"I will father," Sequoia promised.

CiCi smiled. "You can be right by us, just don't let them see you yet, all right?"

Nodding understandingly, CiCi and Sequoia walked out of the woods, while the others walked closely alongside them. Seeing the lone car in the dusky sky, CiCi walked forward, only to look back and see that Sequoia was a few steps behind her, looking at it warily.

"It's okay," CiCi said calmly. Sequoia sighed, but she realized that considering she was relatively close and in the open, if the people in the car were going to shoot her, they could have done so by now. Determinedly, she pressed forward and followed CiCi to the car. Stopping a few yards back as CiCi looked in, she rushed over to Sequoia. "My pets are asleep," she whispered. Sequoia nodded in relief, before CiCi moved to the back of the trunk, which was left open. Lady, Tramp, Pongo, Perdita, Peg and Spunky were all sleeping but CiCi prodded each of them awake.

At once, they bolted straight up, on alert, but relaxed when they saw who it was. "Are you all right, CiCi?" Perdita asked concernedly.

"Yes," CiCi said happily.

"How did it go?" Pongo asked keenly.

"Well," CiCi said tentatively, beckoning Sequoia to come over. She did, causing the others to stare in disbelief.

"Hello," Sequoia said shyly.

"Hello," Lady stuttered back. As time passed, the shock of being with an unfamiliar and on occasion hostile race on both sides ebbed.

"You must be the housedogs CiCi told us about," Sequoia said. Upon seeing them all nod, she said, "Don't worry about us. We're not interested in harming you, so long as you don't harm us."

"Why would we do that?" Lady asked uncertainly.

Sequoia smiled. Letting out a quick howl, in a matter of seconds, the other wolves left the forest and joined CiCi at the back of the car. This made the dogs uncontrollably flinch at first, but then their reactions calmed as they saw that like Sequoia, these wolves appeared to be perfectly peaceful. However, a second later, they heard some low meows as the cats slowly began to stretch and stand up. The dogs looked uneasily at the scene as many of the cats bared out their claws, but quickly, Leo and CiCi blocked the way for the cats and wolves to come any closer to each other.

"The wolves have no interest in harming us," Leo told the cats, but the wolves looked threatened. "Why didn't you tell us you had cats here?" Neshoba shouted, stunned.

CiCi and Leo looked at each other. "Please, everyone," Leo said nervously. "Let's try to talk things out…" Turning to the cats, he said, "Does anyone want to explain to the wolves why reacted as we did?"

When none of the cats answered, Leo said, "Fine, I'll do it." The cats looked at Leo, stunned at why such a little cat with short stubby legs would put himself insuch a place of danger. "Some of us cats," Leo said diplomatically, "Have come to mistrust you wolves because sometimes when a wolf comes to our town, a cat thereafter disappears. I'm sure the hostility between us will decrease if you can promise us that you won't attack a cat again."

"Our pack does not," Waya answered slowly. "You said yourself, it is a lone wolf that attacks. The wolves that do attack usually are not affiliated with any pack. But this would not be a problem if you cats did not drive our ancestors in the area to near extinction… All of your wild cousins…"

"Yes, but it is not something that we ourselves have done," Leo said.

"Nor is attacking you cats," Waya answered.

Leo sighed. "All I want to do is end hostilities between us, don't you?"

"Yes," Waya answered slowly.

"Great," Leo said encouragingly. Looking to the other cats, impressed with his resolve, Leo said, "We promise that as cats, we apologize for any violence our kind has committed against yours in the past and that in the future, we will not do anything against you, including taking food on your territory, and that any cat who breaks this vow shall be ostracized from the cat community. Agreed?"

The cats looked warily at Leo, but none of them objected, not even Si and Am. "If," Leo continued, "You can make some promises to us."

Waya sighed, before saying, "We wolves condemn our rogues' misbehaviors of the past, and we will make every effort to warn all of our kind that we must not harm a single cat, and should there be any violators, they will be driven out of the area by our pack. Do we all agree?"

The wolves too looked hesitant but nodded in agreement.

"Excellent," Leo said, relieved to have finally got some form of peace. "In the meantime, no matter what qualms we might have had, right now, we have got to join together because both of us are being hurt by the wild dogs, and the more of us there are to stand up to them, the more effective we can be. Agreed?"

Slowly, the cats and wolves tentatively nodded, and their body language dropped all threatening signs. Relieved to have brokered some form of peace, Leo looked out and then cried out, "The puppies are back!"

Looking through the trees, the adults saw that one after another, the puppies ran toward them, all looking exhausted yet relieved. The sight of them was instantly enough for the adults to forget what they were doing and at once, they bounded towards the puppies. Meeting each other just at the edge of the forest, the joy that each of them felt was infectious as Lady hugged Annette, Collette and Danielle one by one, Tramp and Scamp high-fived each other, Pongo laughed as he let Patch and Rolly play tackle him, Perdita stroked Penny and Cadpig warmly as they leaned against her, Peg and Angel rubbed against each other's cheeks, Puffball hugged Spunky who pet him back, and CiCi and Leo grinned as XL and Scavenger jumped onto CiCi.

"I am so happy you are all right," Lady cooed.

"Yes," Pongo added slowly. "But … Where are Lucky, Two-Tone and Rebecca?"

The puppies looked at each other uneasily. Perdita stuttered, "Are they … Are they …."

"No, I don't think," Patch said cautiously. "But … They were captured."

Looking at each other, Pongo and Perdita were at a loss for words. "We … We've got to get them back!" Perdita gasped at once.

"Aye, but we've got to talk first," came a voice from the woods, and stepping out from behind a tree, Jock walked forward.

"Why, Jock!" Lady gasped, beaming at him. "You escaped!"

"Aye, but I couldn't have done it without these wee young ones," Jock said appreciatively, nodding to Danielle, Angel, and Scamp, who Lady promptly proceeded to hug. "Oh, my darlings … You are just so wonderful … "

"Mom, stop, you're embarrassing us," Scamp said as they all laughed.

"Right, so, shall we get back to the car?" Tramp said. Feeling buoyed with Jock's presence, the group returned to the car, where the wolves and cats stood on opposite sides, waiting for them.

"Whoa, where did they come from?" Patch asked.

"The woods," CiCi explained. "And they're having just as much trouble with the wild dogs as we are."

"Wow, good thing they're here to help!" Scamp explained.

Getting back to the car, they jumped right in as Scamp, Angel, Patch, Danielle and Puffball prepared to explain what happened. They explained about getting in, Vendella's presence, and settling into their rooms.

"That's when we've learned more of our family is involved," Patch explained. "Tripod, Jewel and Freckles have been captured."

"How?" Pongo asked, stunned. "Who would do that if Vendella was already here?"

"Mooch," Cadpig said dourly. "And … He's gotten Whizzer and Dipstick to join him."

"We weren't kidding when we said he was a bully," Rolly added.

Pongo and Perdita looked at each other sadly, unable to comprehend that two of their very own foster children, who they had doted upon just as much as their others, had cast themselves with such unsavory characters.

"It … just can't be," Perdita sighed simply. "Oh Pongo, what do we now? I thought they were good kids."

"Hey, just because they're doing rotten things doesn't mean they're really bad," Scamp pointed out. "I said and did all sorts of stuff I shouldn't have to my family, right Pop?"

"You can say that again!" Tramp replied teasingly.

"And I made my stupidest mistake then too … by betraying Angel's trust," Scamp said, hanging his head as Angel rubbed hers against his forgivingly. "But I've learned a lot from it. After I realized what I've done, I lost all my self-worth, and I wouldn't have forgiven myself if Pop and Angel didn't give me a second chance. So hopefully, Whizzer and Dipstick will come around too."

"Thank you so much for telling us Scamp," Pongo told him as Perdita nodded. "You've given us some hope with them."

They then explained what they each did next, before going over the content of the speeches, all the while making those who weren't there for the speech nauseated and interjecting frequently with various comments of shock and outrage.

"And at the end of the speech, they brought in these caged dogs," Scamp explained. "It was the mayor's poodle, the vet's border collie, and the head cop's German shepherd. I hate to say it, but … They'd make anyone not like housedogs. They acted like total jerks, and the shepherd even said he'd send the crowd to death row."

"Great, someone who should be helping them come to their senses is only making things worse," Pongo sighed exasperatedly.

"Some things don't change," Tramp sighed, shaking his head. "Those dogs have always been snobs to the core. That's what I thought all housedogs were like before meeting you, Pidge," he told Lady, "And that's why I wanted you to be free too, as I knew you were way too special to end up like them," causing Lady to blush before smiling and nodding at him.

"Buster said loads of bad stuff about these guys too," Angel commented. "And I hate to say it, but he was right about them. They were about as snobby as you can get."

"I'll say," Spunky added in. "Those guys are a piece of work, pure and simple. They even helped report streetdogs to the dogcatcher countless times."

"Aye, but they had good intentions. They just wanted to reduce crime by jailing the lawbreakers," Jock again, but Peg angrily interjected, "Yeah, and getting ten innocent dogs for each one of them!"

Jock and Peg glared at each other before hurriedly, Lady hurried in between them. "Please stop fighting!" she cried.

Lady's intervention worked, for Jock said, "Sorry Miss Peg, didn't mean to upset ye. I just … I mean …"

"I understand," Peg said tentatively, but didn't look at him.

Jock sighed before saying, "I guess I feel sorry for them because … It all goes back to how many of us were brought up. Those of us born as housedogs, especially to rich families, never left our nice homes. Growing up, all I knew about streetdogs was …" Gulping, Jock sighed, "That they were disrespectful brutes that didn't take the responsibility of being a dog seriously. I was raised to think that … They were all nasty characters from birth and always would be." Turning to Tramp, Jock explained, "It wasn't until Lassie met you that I began thinking otherwise. I didn't want her to become what I thought you all were, so that's why I was more than happy to shoo you out. But your love for her was far greater than my expectations and it was then I realized not all streetdogs were bad."

Sighing, Jock said, "It was the start of my journey towards tolerance." Looking to Annette, Collette, Danielle and Scamp, Jock explained, "I had my worries about you, all having streetdog in your veins, and feared you would only tear your family apart. But you … Are all such fine nieces and nephews, albeit with a little mischief," he chuckled. Then he looked at Angel, Peg, Spunky and Puffball, who all looked at him with new appreciation and understanding. "Meeting you one by one only confirmed what I learned, that just because you lived the street life doesn't mean you'll turn out to be a bad dog. I mean sure, there are plenty of bad streetdogs like Buster, Reggie and this group of vigilantes, but you aren't like that as a group. It's a lesson I'm proud to have learned, but so many of us never got a chance to learn it."

"And from what I know about them," Lady said softly, "Those caged dogs had been with their pets since they were young puppies … They're high society and they must have been sheltered all their lives … Their feelings have to have come from fear, and we must help them let go of it."

Agreeing firmly, the puppies then explained how they got the key, rescued Jock, and escaped.

Pongo looked at them darkly as they finished. "So, it looks like we've got a full-fledged hate cult to deal with," he sighed. "And they've got great recruiting efforts, to get even some our puppies."

"I still don't understand," Perdita said slowly. "Why would Whizzer and Dipstick join them? And why would they kidnap Tripod, Jewel and Freckles?"

"Yeah," Scavenger said angrily. "It's so unfair! Tripod wouldn't hurt anybody, I'm sure of it!"

"Well," Cadpig explained, "In their case, it's because Mooch has got them 'round his little forepaw. But Two-Tone's not giving up. That's why she got captured, because she was trying to get Whizzer and Dipstick away from Mooch."

"Bless her heart," Perdita said softly.

"They're much nicer on their own, but they're not the only ones," Patch said. "I saw this dog who was viciously attacking a cat."

"Excuse me?" the lead cat named Charles said, looking at him darkly as the cats looked at them from outside.

Patch sighed, before explaining the gruesome cat torture that was happening inside. When he finished, the cats began to mumble in outrage. Hurriedly, Leo stepped into the scene. His heart beating just as furiously as the others, he too wanted to lash out against the wild dogs, but realized that first, he had to take control of the situation.

"Guys!" Leo said, and at once, the cats looked at him.

"Those fiends!" a dark orange cat named Ginger shouted. "We need to show them a thing or two … Right now!"

Leo nodded understandingly and said, "Yeah, but we've got to work together with the dogs and wolves."

"But they're our blood!" called out a silver tabby cat named Brighteyes. "We need to rescue them!"

"We will," Leo promised, and suddenly, got a stroke of inspiration. Changing his tone, he began speaking in a quieter, smoother tone than he was used to in order to be heard among his usual canine companions. "We all have a common enemy, so we're gonna let the dogs and wolves help us by distracting the wild dogs that would be guarding them. Then once they're distracted, we'll break into our cat jail with more time to spare, free all our fellow felines, and then all together, we help get the humans out so we'll teach them not to chase us anymore. Sound good?"

The cats looked at him with a look of newfound awe, and they begun to whisper to each other to discuss strategy, and even Si and Am looked impressed. Seeing that Leo was working with the cats well, Patch turned back to the others. "So I saw this dog violently chasing a cat, but he wasn't like that when I got to know him. Instead, he wanted to be friends. So I played some tug a war with him, and then a couple others saw us and joined in too."

"Yeah," Danielle said. "I met some too like that. They were tired from the workout and didn't like the bosses, and wanted me to tell them about our life. So I did, changing our lifestyle and names of course. But they didn't care about what attacks we pulled off, they were interested about our friendships with each other."

"So what could drive dogs like this to such hatred?" Pongo asked thoughtfully. "I mean, I see they've got a lot of indoctrination, but why do they take it all? Especially the ones who don't even like the leaders or this life like the ones you met, Danielle." Pongo sighed.

"I think most of them have gotta be orphans," Angel sighed. "We didn't see any parents there, and they kept talking about how many of their parents were killed by people and housedogs."

"Yeah, and one of those dogs attacking Jock said she was doing it because housedogs took away her parents," Danielle said.

"Aye, so many young ones who attacked me said they wanted revenge," Jock added.

Peg and Spunky however, looked at each other confusedly. Immediately, Angel noticed the looks on her parents' faces. "Mama, Daddy, what is it?"

"Well, if humans are killing their parents, it would probably be at the pound," Spunky said carefully, "Peg and I were there a long time and met a lot of inmates. But most of them weren't the young adults who usually are the ones with puppies. The young streetdogs were usually quick enough to avoid them. I only got caught because the dogcatcher got fed up with me saving dogs from the pound and chased me for hours."

"As for me, it's because I haven't grown up with the street life. But Spunky was right, there weren't many young adults in the pound, and the ones that did get caught often broke out or found homes real quick. Spunky and I didn't find a home because we wanted to be together, and though Spunky and I tried breaking out, there was no way I could escape when I was about to give birth. And when Angel was born, I asked all around the pound for advice on raising a puppy, but the others either didn't have puppies or bother to take care of them."

"There weren't many parents or puppies in the pound then, so I can't see where all these puppies today who've lost their parents are coming from." Spunky said.

"Plus, some of these kids you've met are pedigreed," Peg said thoughtfully. "Pedigreed dogs, especially young adults, are the last dogs you'll ever find in the pound."

"You saw a toy spaniel, a basset hound, and a corgi too?" Tramp asked Patch and Danielle who nodded. "That's real weird, because I knew all the street dogs around town and there weren't any dogs like those on the street."

Then suddenly Patch remembered something … Just how small and helpless he was when he was a young puppy as the squat, smelly hand grabbed onto their basket …

"That's it," Patch said suddenly, his heart racing rapidly. The others turned before he said, "I bet," he said slowly, "These puppies were dognapped."

Looking at him with thorough intrigue, Patch continued. "I think," Patch continued hesitantly, "That the wild dogs targeted houses with newborn puppies first. The ones who'd be so young they couldn't remember anything. I'll bet that they raided the houses with newborn puppies, captured the owners and parents, and took in the newborns … To raise them up in the pack."

"And then being told that they're orphans because of humans and housedogs," Angel said comprehendingly.

They sat there and looked at each other. Suddenly, it all made sense how the pack had so many young puppies in it. "Do you think that their parents are still alive?" Perdita asked thoughtfully.

"If they are, they've gotta be with the other prisoners," CiCi answered.

Then Lady turned to Jock. "What's beyond the door Angel mentioned?"

"Well," Jock shivered. "As Angel said, there's a long hallway, and on the right hand side, there are two more doors. The near door leads to the room where us housedogs are jailed, and the far door is where our pets are jailed. The doors are locked, but there are two ways to enter. The wild dogs enter by sticking their paws underneath before the jail guard lets them. But I couldn't help but to notice that on each door there's also three keyholes."

At once, the puppies looked at each other excitedly. "I knew those keys led somewhere!" Scamp said.

"Three keys for two doors is six keys," Pongo said thoughtfully. "And we know where two of them are, one's around that trainer's neck and one's in the swimming pool… They've probably got the others hidden around the place too."

"Also," Jock said, remembering something. "Right by the stairs is another room in the basement. It seems like more speeches go on there. And the guards ask us who is ready to turn against our pets, and if anyone says yes, the guards escort them in that direction." Jock grimaced. "Trusty and I couldn't imagine who would turn on their pets like that, but sadly, some of them did."

Silence filled the back of the car again before Lady asked, "How is Trusty doing, anyway?"

"Not good," Jock said sadly, "No worse than the rest of us, but still terrible. We've all given up hope in there."

"We've got to end this," Pongo said determinedly as the others barked approvingly. Then to their surprise, they saw that at once, both the wolves and the cats approached them. "We've agreed upon a plan to help you," Waya said as Charles nodded.

"We will attack the outside guards and clear the way for you enter," Waya continued. "This will also weaken their security, because they will keep sending reinforcements out."

"As for us," Charles purred, "We see the merits of your cat invasion idea and are more than ready to free our fellow felines from trouble. We'll scale the walls and free the caged cats and create more of a distraction to allow you to get through."

"Lieutenant Pug would love this," Cadpig smirked as Rolly let out a hearty laugh. Almost immediately though, it slipped into a yawn, and before everyone knew it, Rolly fell asleep in the car.

"Rolly, get up! We can't stop now!" Scamp cried out.

"Especially with Lucky, Two-Tone and Rebecca locked up!" Cadpig added.

Waya, however approached them. "I can see in your eyes that you all need some rest. And it would not be wise to attack just after you escaped, for they are undoubtedly on the lookout for intruders. We've got to wait for them to let their guard down before we make our push." Turning to his pack, he asked, "Pukak, Kodiak?"

"Yes," the two wolves said at once.

"Can you two watch the wild dogs and tell us when their security lapses?" he asked. The two wolves obliged and took off. Waya then turned to the dogs. "You should get some rest. Wolves are nocturnal, so it would be no chore for us to keep a lookout."

"Thanks," CiCi said appreciatively. Yawning, the group stretched out and prepared to nap

While allowing her body to rest, Lady stared around her. Only in these moments of reflection did she realize how much she had learned in her life. It wasn't all that long ago when she herself didn't know of anything beyond the safety and security of her neighborhood, and with only knowing Jock and Trusty, was truly sheltered from the outside world. Remembering when she made her break from Aunt Sarah, she recalled that the fear in her suffocated her just as badly as the muzzle around her did during her first moments on the street, and the subsequent fear she felt in being in the pound with all these strangely shaggy dogs without any collars. It was only through exposure and meeting some truly nice dogs from the wrong side of the tracks, most of all Tramp, did she begin to feel less frightened. She then thought of the mayor's, police chief's, and vet's dogs, all of whom must have lived happy, pampered lifestyles. She could only imagine what they were going through, to suddenly find themselves imprisoned in a terrifying environment without their pets and with no one but hateful faces to look at. As she lay there deep in thought, she knew very well where they were coming from, and she felt it was only natural for her to speak to them.

Watching Lady staring out at the snow, Tramp too couldn't help but to reflect. Should he have known this was coming? He could fully remember the feelings he once had about housedogs, how they were all snobby, prejudiced, and pompous, before meeting Pidge, and though operating solo himself, he knew and could understand that other streetdogs desired to form packs, with some like Buster even forming gangs. A gang forming around this shared dislike was something he could understand forming, and he only wished that he could have been there earlier to tell these streetdogs that housedogs weren't all like what they thought. But he knew that with the gang's indoctrination being so strong, there was only one thing he could do now: confront the leader, the one behind all the rage and torment, and stop the anger right at its source, and with his quick body and quicker wit from months of being the top streetdog, there was no one better equipped to do it.

Pongo looked down at his puppies lying right beside him, appreciating them all still being there with him. But once again, Lucky was in peril. Between his near death on his first day of life, the many close calls Lucky had in escaping Cruella, and his misadventures with Rolly and Cadpig, Lucky had always been the one facing peril. He knew that he couldn't rest until he got him, Two-Tone and Rebecca back, yet at the same time, knew they needed help, and for this, he had to get all of the prisoners, dog and pet alike, out of there as quickly and stealthily as possible. As they were severely outmatched in almost every way, Pongo knew that he had to use the same precision, tact, and ingenuity he used when coming up with the plan to cover him and his family with soot to escape Cruella's clutches; and that somehow, he needed to find the opportunity whenever it would present itself.

As Perdita thought of what it was like for Lucky, Two-Tone, and Rebecca to be all alone and trapped in a cage, an urge grew in her to wrap her paw around them and protect them from any more harm. She remembered too the puppies who became her foster children, and how cold, vulnerable, and nervous they all looked, not having anyone to nurture and guide them when they needed it most. Hearing of all these puppies resorting to anger and violence, all of them without their mothers to guide them tore at her soul. As much as she wished she could, she knew that was impossible to give each individual puppy the attention that they needed to live happily. With this in mind, she knew that to the best of her ability, she had to find each of these lost puppies a mother who would give them the same love and doting care that she gave to all her puppies.

Putting her paw on her chin, Peg looked out bleakly. While she herself had never hated housedogs during her days as a streetdog, being friendly to them when they were impounded, she knew all too well the dark side of life without a collar. Remembering the feelings of being neglected, envious, cynical, and hopeless along with the constant fear of death being instilled through months on the street and in the pound, she could see how the words of the wild dogs would appeal to dogs as unfortunate as she once was. She thought of some of her old friends at the pound and their attitude towards housedogs and shuddered to think on how they might view the wild dogs. Shaking her head, she knew she had to act in instilling some hope and faith with these dogs, and somehow, have them all discover the light as she did.

Spunky sat tensely. The pain from his wounded leg throbbed aggressively, reminding him just how helpless he was in this situation. He knew all too well that he was no match for the wild dogs in speed, agility, or power anymore, and that even being at the scene put him at great risk without having much to contribute. But he didn't feel right in just sitting there. Having thought he lost his wife and unborn child for months due to his own carelessness, he couldn't let them and his new extended family he loved get into any more peril without making some attempt to help in the best way he could. Somehow and in some way, he knew that he could do something to help everyone out, and to stay true to following his heart, no matter what his leg might say otherwise.

Scamp tossed and turned as he tried to sleep, but he knew from the start it was useless. Only last summer, he knew he would have been awed by the wild dogs' promise of a wild and free life, just as he was by Buster's eerily similar and exciting promises. Remembering his many mistakes, especially how he revealed Angel's secret under peer pressure, he couldn't imagine what he might've done if he was more entrenched in the gang life. He realized he had grown up so much since then, learning all about love, family, friendship and caring for one another with the help of his family and especially his true love. But having been there once, he more than understood the appeal of the wild dogs, and that after learning the hard way, he knew he had to convince the others that as cool as a gang seemed, a life that was only focused on power, greed, violence, and hatred would not bring them happiness in the long run.

Knowing what Scamp was thinking about, Angel smiled at him and gave him a comforting cheek rub. He had given her everything she had ever dreamed of, but she knew full well that many pups her age weren't so lucky, and for the longest time, she was one of them. As the painful memories of being ditched by family after family haunted her, she remembered giving up and joining Buster's gang as the only way she could have some semblance of a family. Thinking over it all, she remembered just how hard she had to work at keeping up appearances, not ever letting her true feelings betray her to a life of complete vulnerability. Remembering the pups she and Danielle met, she wondered how many of these wild dogs felt the same way, pretending to be excited gang members but really seeing this as their only choice for survival. Sighing softly, Angel connected deeply with this plight, and she knew that she had to give them the hope to guide them out of gang life before it was too late.

Patch lay still and let his mind wander. He recalled so vividly the feeling of neglect he once had relative to Lucky, and the desire to find some place to belong. While between making many new friends and coming to an understanding with his parents solved his problems, he knew that for some of these dogs, with nowhere else to go, the desire to belong to a group was too much to resist, no matter what they may do. In particular, he thought of Whizzer and Dipstick. Despite their happy lifestyle and having a lot of love from their foster parents, they always seemed to blindly follow Mooch around. He wondered how many of these other dogs, like Bullet and the others who played tug of war with him, simply wanted to find a place where they belonged, rather than feeling lost and directionless in the vast world around them. He sighed, feeling that somehow, he needed to help them find their sense of belonging elsewhere.

Sighing carefully, Penny still couldn't understand this plight. Seeing it with her closest brother Patch before, Penny, despite being supportive to Patch and always lending a paw to him, innately didn't understand this rebelliousness. She couldn't get why someone would lash out so strongly against life, rather than try to make the best of life's challenges and relieve them to the best one can. This rebellious anger, deep yet unconstructive, made Patch so unhappy before, and she knew that she had to somehow ease the raw emotions of the young pups to get them to see things in a more positive light.

For Cadpig, the wild dogs were a textbook case of complete psychological bedlam. The raw feelings of hatred and violence were much too pervasive for an indoctrinated dog to bounce back from easily, and she saw that so many of them were in dire need for psychotherapy. She sighed sadly. It would not be easy to restore harmony and peace among this group, but bringing harmony and peace to the world was her life's calling and she knew that no matter how difficult it was, she had to bring it to this group of dogs. She just hoped that all the mental tricks she learned from all her reading would be enough to ease the tension in practice, and that her actions wouldn't backfire like they did on several other occasions.

As he woke up, Rolly's stomach rumbled as it always did, but even he was too distracted to think about it. This life that the wild dogs lived, one of recklessness, intense workouts and danger and one that eschewed comfort and relaxation, not to mention a total lack of enjoyable food, sounded like total misery to him and he knew that it would be so many others as well. Sighing, he knew he was not cut out for combat, his fine taste in edible delights ensuring that, but perhaps there were other ways he could help … In particular, if he could use that fine nose of his that could discern a plate with traces of sardine versus one with salmon in less than a second …

Annette looked around her and sighed. She loved her family so much but couldn't see how they were going to pull through this time. Seeing Scamp and Danielle making so many reckless choices winding up with unintended consequences was something she couldn't get out of her mind. She also couldn't help but to think that invading the headquarters may be just what the wild dogs wanted. But there was nothing else to it. Her family had nothing to lose, and that the time to act was upon them, and that all of them, including her, would have to take some risks. She could only hope though, that they would all make it to the other side, unscathed.

Clutching onto the large key, Danielle looked into her boyfriend's eyes, still unblinking and traumatized. She couldn't blame him considering all the stories he told her about the wild dogs, and upon one visit to their headquarters, she could tell that he wasn't exaggerating one bit. The urge inside her, roaring stronger than ever, wanted to teach those dogs who tormented her boyfriend's puppyhood a lesson. Yet all the same, the group of puppies she met were nothing like the pack leaders they met. Thinking about them sadly and the bad direction to which they were driven, she yearned to get those puppies, seeming to suffer as much as her boyfriend did, out of a life they clearly hated and toward a brighter future, just as Puffball did.

His heart beating rapidly, Puffball's fears for months had come true, for he knew he was going to have to face the wild dogs once and for all. All the while, he couldn't help but to think about his brother, and his determined attitude and fierce desire for reputation. His ego would lead him to wanting more and more responsibility to let him get power, and then it hit him: Wilder had to be guarding a key, just as that wrestling coach did. It was just like him to volunteer for important tasks, and considering how many keys were there and his quick promotion, it seemed inevitable. And Puffball knew that perhaps the only thing that would distract Wilder from performing this job that meant everything for his power was his unique, special hatred for his little brother. Gritting his teeth, Puffball knew that despite his disadvantages in size and strength, that to get the key away, he had to challenge Wilder for it.

CiCi and Leo looked at each other, snuggling into each other, just as they had in much more peaceful times. The two of them had been exhausted, each trying to get a group of unconventional allies to unite with the housedogs in the face of a greater threat. Leo couldn't help but worrying whether the suspicion most cats had toward dogs would cost them when things could get too tough for the cats. Similarly, CiCi worried that the wolves may suddenly decide that the conflict was not worth it or perhaps even be swayed by the wild dogs' anti-human rhetoric. Knowing how similar each of their plights were, those of serving an ambassador between their groups, who also mistrusted each other, and the housedogs, which neither group fully trusted, CiCi and Leo could only comfort each other by cuddling into each other, Leo allowing himself to be taken in by CiCi's paws while she appreciated the warmth his curled up position generated. Time would only tell if all their efforts would be in vain, but they could sit and hope for the best.

Jock sat, silent and still. He still couldn't believe that he finally made it out of imprisonment, and the lengths to which the families he loved next door and kitty corner to him that he knew ever since Lady took her first puppy steps out the door were going through. To finally do something to fight back was something that Jock took great pride in, but more than anything else, he wanted to get Trusty out of the cells. He could vividly remember his lifelong friend's sad, hopeless expression as he slumped lifelessly against the wall, resigned to spend the rest of him life in a prison cell. He knew that no matter what, he had to free Trusty and the other housedogs out of there, and growled affirmatively, preparing for one last fight for his worldly body to face.

So much was going on in Scavenger's head. His long-lost brother was right in the basement, and he was more than ready to rescue him. Through his mind though, bubbled many questions. First and foremost was his desire to make sure Tripod was okay, but he couldn't help wondering if Tripod still remembered him. As Pongo and Perdita were surprised he was Tripod's brother, Tripod must not have mentioned him to them. Could Tripod have just moved on and forgot about him? And then there was XL, who was almost like another brother to him. Would the wild dogs, already keen on harassing foxes, hurt him to no end?

Collette gazed around slowly. She had grown up so much over the months, from obsessing over a speck of mud on her coat and badmouthing her brother to really appreciate her slowly expanding circle of family and friends. But she never felt quite like this. It was one thing to see Scamp and Danielle come back from their adventures on the street, to suddenly each have stars in their eyes as they brought home their true loves, who quickly fit right in the family fabric. But for it to happen to her was something she could've never imagined. He was just a kid, and even more strangely, a fox! But her heart instantly warmed upon looking at him, and did even more as she gave him a few soft strokes. Smiling softly, she finally understood her siblings' emotions and like them and her mother, she would find happiness in an unconventional but very satisfying relationship. Petting his pointed ears, Collette looked into XL's shut eyes and soft smile, wondering what he was dreaming about …

XL smiled as he felt a plumy tail tickle his chin softly. But at once, the moment halted, as he was thrown by the scruff of his neck into the tall nearby grasses. Before he knew it, he looked to see that straight ahead a huge pack of wild dogs was charging at him. Then he heard a series of abrupt bangs, and turning around, he saw that a hunter and his hunting dog had entered the clearing where he was, and a body of a strikingly familiar vixen was lifelessly lying on the ground. As XL dashed away to the side, "Get back here you!" the hunter shouted, the hunting dog's hot, ragged breath mercilessly tailing him.

Then suddenly, he falls into a trap and taking a big tumble, he lands into a sort of jail cell, where all around him, the other housepets, including all his new friends and family, were chained to the walls and muzzled up. The sound of a creaking door jarred him awake, and a massive wild dog entered and immediately lunged straight at Collette. XL tried to jump at the dog to stop him, only to realize that he was only tied up too. "NOOOO!" he yelled in terror.

Sweating and shaking as he woke up with a start, he realized that in his agitated state, he was pawing at Scavenger, who was asleep, like he was the jail floor he was trying to escape from. Feeling a slight prod behind him, he looked over and saw Collette looking at him thoughtfully. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, XL said, "Just a … Bad dream … "

"I know," Collette said thoughtfully. "But we will get through this. Don't you worry about it."

"Yeah, we better," Danielle piped in. "No way we're gonna let them win without a fight!"

"Yeah, we've done so much together!" Scamp added. "As long as we don't give up, we'll show 'em!"

"We're one awesome family and if they think they'll stop us, they've got another thought coming!" Angel added.

"We're gonna do this," Pongo said determinedly. "For our pets, for our friends and neighbors, for our way of life, and for each other!"

"So are we ready to show them what we've got?" Tramp asked readily, and everyone in the car cheered determinedly, before joining together in one big group hug. Wide awake and with a renewed sense of optimism and determination, the group chatted about their insights, and steadily, began to see where each of them could leave the most impact in the rescue.


	32. Chapter 32

Welcome back to another chapter! No matter how long my absence may be, I have every intention of completing this story - And we've got a quite ways to go still! Thank you so much to XLR8 the Fox for his help in writing this story, and to all of my readers. Please fav/follow and review this chapter or any older one, it's always appreciated! Same goes with my other stories. As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney.

MAJOR EDIT: Whew! Thanks TactitianLyra for pointing out that I forgot to remove all the code from this chapter! Hopefully it's all fixed now.

Chapter 32 – Mutual Understanding

Hours after the speech ended, Lucky, Two-Tone and Rebecca remained sitting in the cage. Though their bodies were physically exhausted from the lateness in the day, their minds were racing, wondering what would become of themselves and the others. They had very few chances to talk, for Whizzer and Dipstick stood on either side of the cage, both looking completely bored. Throughout the whole time, Two-Tone kept glancing at Whizzer and Dipstick, wanting an opportunity to reach out to them. But Mooch was never far away, chewing on a sofa pillow out of boredom as he watched over Whizzer and Dipstick.

"Can't we get to sleep yet?" Whizzer moaned, performing his namesake activity as he asked as Dipstick and the other puppies recoiled.

"Shut it," Mooch said."Keep your cool if you don't wanna end up like Luckless."

The one exception to this was when Mooch, Whizzer and Dipstick went out of the room to get some food, only leaving the room's guards, who were stationed at the door on the other side of the room.

"It's all m'fault," Rebecca said dourly. "If I'd been a better actress, you'd never be caught."

"No it's not," Two-Tone consoled her. "Your cover allowed us in, and Vendella would have figured it out anyway."

"Yeah, and what's important is you bought us time," Lucky pointed out. "And we got that big key out, so we'll get everyone out soon. Oh yeah, if you see any other keys, they could be really important. We've seen two more and they're both in hard to get spots, one's chained at the bottom of the pool the other's around a coach's neck. It seems like we need a lot of keys to get around this place."

As Rebecca and Two-Tone nodded understandingly, Lucky suddenly remembered something else. "How did it go with Whizzer and Dipstick, Two-Tone? If they turned on you …"

"No it's not like that," Two-Tone muttered, looking at Lucky's hardened expression pleadingly. "They're not happy with this life, and I almost persuaded them to come home. But then Mooch came, and they went back to sticking by him. I kept trying, but Mooch kept cutting me off as he pressured me to join his gang again. I finally got him to shut up, but then Puffball's brother came and Mooch turned me in. But yeah, I don't think they'd have turned me in if Mooch didn't come."

"How could they just not stand up to him?" Lucky asked incredulously. "I sure would've!"

"Well, some of just aren't that assertive," Rebecca said wisely. "Particularly if they're dependent on Mooch as they seem."

"Yeah, that's their problem all right," Two-Tone sighed. "They're both really insecure, with Whizzer's peeing problems and Dipstick being kinda thick, so they just hang around Mooch to protect 'em. Just like I was, actually."

"But why'd you be insecure?" Lucky asked. "You're perfect just as you are."

"Gee thanks," Two-Tone blushed. "But … I dunno. It's always been like that for me."

"What do you mean?" Lucky asked.

"Oh …. I don't know if I should …"

"Two-Tone, please," Lucky said. "You can trust me with anything."

"And I vow I won't repeat a word that is said," Rebecca added.

"Well …" Two-Tone said slowly, "My brothers and sisters called me ugly, made fun of me for being fat, and for my hind side being black. Dalmatians don't look like that, they kept saying. It didn't help that I couldn't decide all the time either. Eventually they kicked me out of the house, and then Horace and Jasper found me and the rest is history. So as soon as I found out how tough Mooch was, I knew I had to play nice with him to not get bullied. But really … the only one I had my eye on was you." Sighing, Two-Tone said, "I watched you, Cadpig, Rolly and Spot having so many awesome adventures and having a great time hanging out. And I really admired how great of a leader you were, it's something I really wish I was. But I never had a chance to get closer to you … Until Mooch rejected my offer to the ball, and then I was finally free to follow my heart."

Sighing, Two-Tone continued, "But when our pets took you to the show and you never returned, I was alone again and Mooch kept on bullying me, until I just couldn't take it anymore and came here … But I've gotten to know Whizzer and Dipstick, and they're different when Mooch isn't around. They've just gotta let go of their fears, ditch Mooch, and then they won't be bullies, I'm sure of it."

Lucky nodded slowly, still looking at Two-Tone. "Two-Tone, I'm sorry … If I'd known how you felt earlier … Or how Mooch was treating you…"

"Don't worry," Two-Tone said, smiling at him. "What matters now is we're together."

"Yeah," Lucky said, "But … Don't let anyone else get to you because no matter what, you're the most amazing girl I'll ever meet. And you're not the only one who was insecure … I always had a crush on you too, but I thought you were too cool for me … And I was scared of you turning me down."

Two-Tone sighed. "If only we just told each other earlier..."

"Yeah, well, now that we did, it's a new start for both of us," Lucky told Two-Tone, giving her a lick on the cheek as she blushed.

"Well well well," jeered a cold voice. Turning, they look to saw Mooch was once more standing outside the cage. "Normally I'd get you more for messing with my girl, but whatever I do will be nothing compared to what you'll be getting!" Snickering as Whizzer and Dipstick echoed him, he asked, "How does it feel to be locked up, Luckless?" Mooch sneered at his longtime rival. "Getting used to it yet?"

"No, and we never will, we're gonna get outta here," Lucky said determinedly.

"Sounds real threatening," Mooch smirked. "But Mommy and Daddy aren't here to save you out this time, they're bound to be caught by now."

"Hey, cut it out!" Two-Tone shouted. "What did he ever do to you?"

"I'll tell you what, babe," Mooch growled, placing a front paw under Two-Tone's head, while using his other paw to hold down Lucky's tail. "That damn runt with his pup next door looks and housedog pedigree took you away from me!"

"That has nothing to do with it! I left you because you were a jerk to me. Even when I asked you to the ball, you told me to move my big butt! How did you think I'd like that?" Two-Tone retorted.

"Doesn't matter now, sweet cheeks," Mooch, forcefully rubbing his cheek against hers.

"Did you even listen to what I just said?" Two-Tone asked incredulously.

"Yeah, whatever," Mooch said dismissively. "Point is, I'm the one with the power now, me and all the other dogs who saw their chance and went for it to join the pack of all packs. But hey, I'm a nice guy, and I've got a thing for hot babes." Turning to Rebecca briefly, he said, "You ain't cool enough, so don't you think about it." Wilting a little, Rebecca crouched down. Mooch meanwhile renewed his grip upon Lucky's tail as he leaned closer to Two-Tone's face, pressing his into hers, as he pawed her chin up so their faces looked straight at each other. Mooch said, "It'simple Tonesy. Don't you remember gang life? How we took control of the farm, doing whatever we please and beating the crap out of anyone who dared challenge us? We can do that over again, because we'd be part of the most unstoppable gang there is! Every dog will bend to your will because hey, yours'll be mine, and we'll be like canine royalty, especially with the tough brood we're gonna raise. All I ask is that you be mine. Get it?"

"Yeah, I get it, alright," Two-Tone said. "I'm not good at making decisions, but having been with both you and Lucky, it's just too easy. You see me as your flunky to help carry out your dirty work and help you look cooler. He sees me for me, is always concerned about how I'm feeling, and he actually cares about me. So who do you'd think I choose?"

"Me," Mooch said simply as Two-Tone shook her head. "You'll never understand. Let me make things clear. I love Lucky, not you. Now do you get it?"

Mooch simply laughed. "Whether you'll like it or not, you'll be mine someday. You'll be begging for mercy when you find out what's in store for you."

"Never!" Two-Tone barked.

"We'll see," Mooch smirked. "We'll see."

At that moment, the door opened to reveal Vendella, walking down the auditorium hall with great confidence, her held up high as she smirked in triumph. "Well done boys," she said simply, jumping onto the stage. "Nice to see you've kept these curs in order." Mooch moved over to make way for Vendella, who sneered at them excitedly. "At last," she purred, "I am beginning to get my vengeance. You puppies have messed with the wrong family … And you guys are just a start."

"Don't you dare hurt our family!" Lucky shouted angrily.

Vendella laughed. "You're in no position to make threats, boy. You foiled my mistress's plans far too many times … I should be with my mistress right now, sleeping on a long, luscious fur coat that should be made of all ninety-nine of your furry pelts…" Two-Tone looked over, and within a few seconds, Whizzer and Dipstick suddenly sat with their jaws dropped, and within seconds, began to nudge Mooch frantically. Mooch however also looked a bit uneasy, especially since at the very next moment, Vendella began to cackle fiercely.

"Have fun," Vendella continued smoothly. "You deserve far worse than an ordinary jail cell. You're going straight to B2, where I'll be seeing much more of you. Oh yes, I'll be getting promoted. Your capture means a lot to the bosses, and I'll be in my suite watching as one by one you …"

The door however opened again, and inside walked in Bruce, who was followed by Casey, Joe, Harley, all of whom looked extremely eager. The puppies looked at each other uneasily, for anything that would make them happy was bound to be bad news.

"Well well well, look who it is, my favorite ruffians," Vendella smirked.

"That's it! I'm sick of you, housepet, housepet, housepet!" Casey shouted, jumping up and down angrily. Harley and Joe however were still smirking, and Bruce growled to Casey, "Shut up. We're here on important business."

"Ooh, important business," Vendella said mockingly. "What are you numskulls up to this time?"

"We're carrying out orders from B2," Joe said straightforwardly. "They want you."

At once, Vendella let out a triumphant laugh. "I knew it! It's about time for my promotion. Very well, since you're now my subordinates, here's my instructions. Clear up a suite by the foxhounds' chambers, and move my things … What?" Vendella paused, for suddenly, the quartet of wild dogs began to let out some uncontrollable snickers. "What's so funny? I could get you punished for this!"

"Oh, the irony of what you said," Harley laughed as Joe continued, "You're going to B2 all right. For a suspension!"

"What?" Vendella asked, spitting in rage as Casey started jumping down and shouting, "Jail her! Jail her!"

"Yeah, and you're lucky it ain't more," Bruce said.

"But … I got these puppies! They're mine!" Vendella shouted.

"Well," Harley explained as though she was talking to a young puppy, "You also blew your mission big time. Nobody gets promoted for letting our top enemies into headquarters, or for allowing them to escape with the basement key!"

"Yeah, and the bosses know why they escaped," Bruce added. "You didn't let the pack know that you found those prissies, so it's all your fault they got away! You know what that means? It means you failed. And what do we do with failures 'round these parts? We punish them!"

"What? How dare you!" Vendella shouted, but within seconds, Casey grabbed a piece of rope and it looped around Vendella within seconds. "Haha, all tied up, all tied up, all tied up!" he declared gleefully. Then a couple guards approached the stage and dragged the tied up Vendella out of the room.

"So long," Bruce jeered as the others laughed triumphantly, as Vendella glared at them with deep loathing. Once Vendella was dragged out of the room, Bruce turned his attention to Mooch, Whizzer, and Dipstick; Joe, Casey and Harley following a few step backs. "Congrats youngsters," Bruce said. "You've proven yourself with your capture of these puppies that you're more than up for the job."

Lucky, Two-Tone and Rebecca looked at each other, seeing at once what Bruce was doing – Mooch, and through him Whizzer and Dipstick, would be more faithful if lavishly promised. "If you're up to this new task, you're on your way to a big promotion," he said importantly.

"But why did you punish Vendella … " Whizzer said confusedly before Mooch stepped on his tail and said, "Well, we're more than ready for that."

"Excellent," he said. "Follow me. Joe, pick up the cage."

At once, Joe grabbed the cage with Lucky, Rebecca and Two-Tone. Bruce then leaped off the stage, and the others followed suit. Joe however waited for the others to get off, before biting onto the cage handle hard to swing it over his head before he leaped with great force onto the ground, causing the puppies to shriek as they were bounced across the cage's walls, landing dazed and hurting in a pile. "Whoops," Joe smirked to snickers from the other wild dogs.

"Wondering where they were being taken, they saw Bruce lead them out the speech room, into the main room which was empty apart from a pack of guards, and up the stairs. Surprised that they were not going to the prisons in the basement, they instead turned into the cat chasing room. Like with the downstairs, there were several guards stationed, only they were all by the door of the cat jail. As they got closer to the guards, they could hear long, desperate meows behind the walls.

"Get me some muzzles, cuffs, and rope!" Bruce ordered.

A few of the guards nodded, saying, "Yes, boss," before tearing off to the other side of the room, ripping over a barrel, and returning with the requested items. After the guards moved to block off the exist, Joe pawed open the lock, leaving the cage's door ajar. "Come out, brats," Joe commanded.

"No way!" Lucky shouted.

"We shall never do what you want!" Rebecca spat back.

"That's right!" Two-Tone agreed.

Harley snickered. "You pups are hilarious. Now we can do things the easy way or the hard way. So which way is it?"

"We're not coming!" Lucky answered.

"Suit yourself," Bruce sneered, before beckoning one of the guards over. This guard, over two-hundred pounds of pure muscle charged forward. "Shake them out," Bruce directed.

At once, the puppies clung onto the cage walls, but it was no use. The giant dog lifted the cage so that the exit faced the ground and then began to violently shake it. Despite their best efforts, the puppies felt their grips weaken before they finally couldn't hold anymore and felt themselves fall to the ground, where Harley, Casey, Joe and Bruce immediately put both pairs of paws in handcuffs and placed tight muzzles on them, before the guard threw them back into the case and locked the door.

"Ya happy now, right?" Bruce asked. "It's what you housedogs choose, life with the muzzle."

"Are we gonna hang 'em?" Casey asked excitedly, jumping back and forth as Joe and Harley looked hopefully at Bruce.

"Oh no," Bruce answered, smirking. "That'd be way too nice. Too short, they wouldn't know a thing. No, we're gonna make 'em suffer," he said, causing the others to smirk. "Tie the rope around the cage," Bruce ordered.

Confused, Lucky, Rebecca and Two-Tone sat helplessly, completely chained and muzzled up, as Casey restlessly knotted the rope around the top handle of the cage. Immediately, Joe, Harley and Casey looked skeptically at Bruce as Casey finished.

"What are we gonna do, kill 'em by having 'em fall to the ground?" Joe asked bewilderedly.

"That ain't more painful than hanging," Harley added disdainfully. "And the cage would only protect 'em."

"Dangit, I want to see those brats get theirs now, now, now!" Casey spat out angrily.

Bruce looked at his three agitated partners before snickering softly. "What's so funny?" Casey snarled.

"You guys ain't got a clue," Bruce continued to laugh. "No matter how we kill 'em, they'd still feel relieved 'cuz the others would still be alive. No, we're gonna round 'em all up first, and then have some fun with 'em till they'll all be begging for mercy. And these brats here are gonna help us," Bruce said, his eyes twinkling maliciously as he looked at the puppies, who silently glared back. "We're gonna use 'em as bait. You know those goody-four-paws, they'll fall right for it. We just need to tell the guards. And get some of our reinforcements ready to fight. So you make sure those pups don't escape!"

With that, Bruce, Joe, Casey and Harley left the room upstairs, leaving Mooch, Whizzer and Dipstick and the other guards. As the minutes snailed by and the bosses didn't return, suddenly Mooch began to smile. Pacing back and forth, he abruptly turned to the other guards. "Hey," Mooch said. "I bet you guys are hungry, huh?"

"Yeah, so?" one of the guards replied as the others nodded.

"Go get some grub," Mooch said. "The three of us'll handle these guys ourselves."

Excitedly, the guards left the room and barreled down the stairs.

"Why'd you do that?" Whizzer asked bewilderedly.

"Because we've got a gang member to catch up with," Mooch said, sneering. "Those morons gone?"

"Uh, yeah," Dipstick said, who peered out of the door.

"Good," Mooch sneered. Unlocking the cage door, Mooch reached a paw inside and pulled Two-Tone out of the cage, and as much as Lucky and Rebecca tried to stop him, being muzzled and pawcuffed stopped them from doing anything as Mooch hurriedly shut the door.

"Take off her cuffs," Mooch ordered Dipstick.

"But Mooch … " Dipstick said confusedly.

"No questions, idiot. Just do it!" Mooch barked.

Dipstick obliged, unbuckling Two-Tone's pawcuffs.

"So Tonesy," Mooch jeered. "You ready to pick up where we left off?"

Though Two-Tone's expression plainly said otherwise, the muzzle prevented her from talking. "That's more like it," Mooch smirked, and at once, he grabbed the leash around Two-Tone's muzzle in his mouth, and began to walk her around the long room. Rage was boiling inside Lucky, but he could only watch in horror as Two-Tone led her around the room.

"See guys?" Mooch called out to Whizzer and Dipstick. "I told you I'd get her back. She's mine once, and she'll always be."

Walking steadily, Two-Tone looked at her captor. Being shorter and prevented from using her mouth, she was at a major disadvantage physically. But as she turned the corner, she noticed something just left of the cat jail; a small glint of metal, belong to something long and thin hanging off of a nail. Her heart pounding, she remembered what Lucky had told her about keys. But this was a very tall key to reach; even her, Rebecca and Lucky stacked on top of each other might not be able to reach it.

Mooch continued to lead Two-Tone around for more laps, looking less and less at her muzzle leash to ensure she was still following, and more ahead, seemingly lost in thought as a smirk slowly grew on his face. All the while however, Two-Tone couldn't help but look at Whizzer and Dipstick, who were sitting in the middle of the room, watching them blankly. Two-Tone sighed sadly. Mooch had them so firmly under his paw that all they did was follow his every word. But now that he was not giving them any instructions or paying attention to them at all, they just sat there, looking lost and confused.

As Mooch pulled Two-Tone around, he leaned into her several times, forcibly pressing his cheek into hers. Recoiling in disgust and pushing away as many times as she could, she couldn't help but notice that Whizzer and Dipstick looked increasingly agitated every time he leaned in. "How does it feel to be cool again? I mean, it's only natural some of my coolness will rub off on you, just as it does with Whizzer and Dipstick. They'd be nothing without me," he said cockily.

"Well," Two-Tone began, seeing that Whizzer and Dipstick looked hurt, but Mooch cut her off. "Sounds like you need more convincing," and without warning, stepped on Two-Tone' back side, immobilizing her to the ground as he used his front leg to wrap around her front. With one bite, he broke her muzzle off, causing it to clang onto the ground. Then forcibly, he moved his face right in front of hers, placing his lips right against hers ...

SMACK. With a well-aimed punch, Two-Tone sent Mooch skidding away from her. Getting up and breathing restlessly, the adrenaline still coursing through her, she saw that Mooch had collided against the wall, and now lay on the ground unconscious. For the first time fully appreciating her chubby, short legs, she turned to see Whizzer and Dipstick looking aghast. "Why'd you do that?" Dipstick asked, stunned.

"Because I didn't want him to control me," Two-Tone answered determinedly. "Just like he shouldn't with you."

"What do you mean?" Dipstick asked.

"Well, he shouldn't force you to do anything you wouldn't otherwise," Two-Tone replied. "You shouldn't have to bully other dogs, follow his orders, or leave home to join gangs just because he says so. Is that what you really want to do with your life?"

Although a little slow on the intake, Whizzer muttered, "I don't like being a wild dog."

"But we've gotta do it," Dipstick said anxiously. "Or we'd be the ones who'd be bullied."

Two-Tone sighed understandingly. "Look, I know being bullied hurts. I've been there too. But look where your fear's led you! In a gang evil enough for a De Vil to join! The dog of the mad woman who tried to turn us all into fur coats!"

Whizzer and Dipstick looked visibly disturbed, and Two-Tone continued, "Being cool's nice, but not to when it starts running your life! You've gotta break from Mooch, just like I did, and start thinking for yourselves! Or else you'll be stuck doing this forever, following a boss who views you as nothing without him!"

"But … He's right ... We are nothing," Dipstick said sadly.

"No you're not," Two-Tone said. "Don't listen to what Mooch says. You two are each your own dogs, and me ... Well, all of our family actually, even with all the rotten things you've done, love you just for who you are."

Pausing for a couple of moments, she saw that Whizzer and Dipstick's bodies noticeably relaxed a bit before Whizzer said, "I … guess.," as Dipstick slowly nodded.

"Great!" Two-Tone exclaimed, hugging each of her adopted brothers in turn. Dipstick smiled. "It's been so long since someone did that to us."

"Trust me, it won't be your last," Two-Tone smiled, her heart swelling with happiness. Finally, after all that effort, she knew she had steered Whizzer and Dipstick in the right direction.

Then it dawned upon Two-Tone just how little time they had. Mooch could awake at any moment, and a guard or commander could come back in any time. "Follow me," she said shortly, as Whizzer and Dipstick nodded.

They scurried over to the cage, where Two-Tone worked on unlocking the cage. Whizzer, meanwhile walked over to the window, to check to see if they could escape, but upon reaching it, saw something quite unexpected. Immediately, he shrieked and jumped. Two-Tone had just finished opening the cage and left Dipstick to bite off Lucky and Rebecca's muzzles and cuffs to look outside, and she gasped. All along the walls outside were the cats they had rescued from the vet, and leading the group was Leo, who looked visibly relieved as Two-Tone stuck her head outside. Nearby were all the guards, slumped to the ground, sleeping or unconscious. Turning to Whizzer and Dipstick, she whispered, "They're our friends."

"Huh?" Whizzer asked.

"But … They're cats," Dipstick says./p

"Trust me," Two-Tone said simply. Then she put her head outside. "It's all clear," she told Leo.

Suddenly a voice came from the hallway. "What's goin' on in there?"

"Nothin'," Whizzer yelled back, performing his namesake out of nerves.. "Me and Dipstick practicin'."

They could hear footsteps shuffle away, and Two-Tone nodded to Leo again.

Leo then turned to the other cats. "In this window!" he called out.

The cats drew closer together, converging upon the window as one by one, each cat jumped into the room. As they bunched together, they saw the cats' enclosure, and all the cats bunched in it. At once, their backs began to arch with rage.

"Up there!" Two-Tone shouted, and pointed the cats to the key that she saw rounding the track with Mooch. The cats immediately leaped toward the wall and promptly removed the key, before unlocking the door to the cat prison. Unfortunately at that moment, Mooch began to stir.

"Cats!" Mooch shouted. "Whizzer, Dipstick, get them!"

However, Whizzer and Dipstick bounded over towards Mooch and before he could react, he realized he was cornered against the wall's corner, with Whizzer having a muzzle at the ready.

What's wrong with you, morons!" Mooch shouted. "Get them!"

"We quit," Dipstick said simply, and as Mooch growled in rage, Whizzer flung the muzzle over Mooch's head and strapped it tightly, while Dipstick hung the strap on a nail in the wall, leaving Mooch suspended and silent in midair.

Lucky and Rebecca meanwhile sat aghast as Two-Tone beamed at Whizzer and Dipstick, "How did you do get them away from Mooch?" Lucky asked bewilderedly.

"Aye, they did not seem like the type to be reformed," Rebecca added.

I didn't reform them," Two-Tone explained simply. "They had good in them all the time. They just didn't see it."

Right, well next time, I'll trust your instincts," Lucky told Two-Tone, as the two of them snuggled against each other, causing Mooch to seethe with rage, visibly shaking as he was suspended.

Meanwhile, the cats entered the cat jail room, and with their claws, quickly began to pick the locks. Considering how many cages there were and the complicated mechanics of these locks, it was quite a daunting task, but each cat that was freed, delighted to be released, began to help, and so eventually, the task proceeded speedily. As the cats who were in the car filled in the jailed cats about where their pets were located and how they have allied with the housedogs and wolves, Leo noticed something way up high in the corner of the room: a sparkling, golden key. Seeing how small the key to this room was, and how little sense it would make to have a key out of the room for the cats to potentially access, a thought struck Leo – that this had to be a key to somewhere else.

But before he could even consider that possibility, he heard voices near the ground. Placing his ear at the hearing vent, Leo froze and tensed up as he heard Bruce's booming voice.

"What? That youngster's not a boss! He can't tell you to leave your posts!" he roared.

"Didn't you know that?" Harley sneered as Casey laughed,"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

But he said …" a guard dully answered, but Bruce cut him off. "Enough! Get back to the cat room right now!"

"Right boss," came a few gruff voices, and then Leo heard a few powerful, plodding footsteps up the stairs.

His heart beating, Leo lifted up his head and shouted, "We've got company!" And with that, they stood there, petrified at the thought of what might happen next.


	33. Chapter 33

Welcome back, at last to another chapter! This chapter in particular was quite hard for mee to write, since there was so much going on in such a short amount of time. But I'm getting back into the groove of writing, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks so much to XLR8 the Fox and Evil-Copper for their faves, follows, reviews. Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their universes belong to Disney. Several characters (XL, CiCi, Leo, Scavenger, Thomas, Anna, Bruce, Casey and Joe belong to XLR8 the Fox).

Chapter 33 – Breaking In

Leo turned to face the other cats, all of whom watched him fearfully. For a few seconds, Leo was paralyzed with fear, as the terrifying sounds of the wild dogs approaching made his heart beat madly. After taking a few deep breaths however, Leo found to his relief that he was able to calm down just enough to remain focused on the situation. "Okay," he said nervously to the crowd of cats. "Anyone who wants to leave now, feel free to jump out the window."

A few of the cats obliged, but to Leo's surprise and admiration, most of the cats stayed put. "Everybody can go if they want," he said uncertainly. "The guards are knocked out."

"Are you kidding?" a lynx-pointed Siamese cat answered, sporting a pink collar with the "Daisy" on it. "We have pets to rescue, and we love them too much to just let them suffer here!"

Daisy's comments were met with a wave of purrs and meows of approval, even from Si and Am. "You all feel this way?" Leo asked.

"Yes," a chocolate cobby cat whose green collar read "Cocoa" answered. "Just because we're not as open with our feelings as dogs are doesn't mean we love our pets any less!"

"Enough chit chat," a tuxedo cat with an orange collar reading "Frank" replied. "We've gotta show these monsters just who's boss!"

"Right," Leo said. "Listen, can anyone jump up to the ceiling? Because we need to get that key up there in the corner to rescue our pets. So if anyone's a really good jumper, can you come forward?"

After some shuffling of the crowd, a few cats approached him, all of whom were exceptionally lean and light with very long legs. A moment later, the room was consumed in a series of angry howls and barks, causing most of the cats to look around nervously.

"Okay," Leo said, eyeing the cats and their long, skinny bodies, trying to ignore the mounting pressure. "Ready?"

The cats all nodded, and Leo smiled. In contrast with all the dogs he'd known, whose bulkier bodies made jumping great heights more difficult, the cats' lithe, nimble bodies would be great advantages in this situation. Even so, as the cats jumped, they kept coming close to getting the key but remained a few inches short.

Just then, one of the cats, who looked to be part Abyssinian and among the most lithe of them all, had just jumped down and with a single bound, got the key down and gave it to Leo. Then sticking closely together, the band of cats stuck together and approached the door. Looking into the room, they saw that a small group of wild dogs, including Mooch, who had been released, was trying to round up Lucky into a cage as meanwhile, Rebecca, Two-Tone, Whizzer and Dipstick sat in cages, having already been captured.

"Give it up, Luckless!" Mooch shouted.

"No way!" Lucky replied, sliding just out of reach of a wild dog that had lunged at him. …

Before Leo could decide what to do next though, Si and Am approached him. "Leave this to us," Si purred.

"Huh?" Leo asked, bewildered. "But..."

"Trust us," Am purred devilishly. "We are more than ready for our revenge."

"Stop!" Leo cautioned, but from everything he knew about them, he was not surprised that they ignored him. Hoping whatever Si and Am were doing wouldn't result in catastrophe, Leo turned to the other cats and muttered, "Lay low," as the other cats crouched down to prevent the dogs from seeing that they had escaped from their cages, while Leo, in front with the key securely clasped within his paws, looked out to see just what Si and Am were up to.

Impulsively, Si and Am beckoned Lucky over. Out of the corner of his eye, Lucky saw and reluctantly obliged, knowing that he could use all the help he could get. Hurriedly, he dashed behind Si and Am, allowing the attention of the wild dogs to be turned onto them.

The group of wild dogs ravenously approached Si and Am. "Heh heh, two cats," one of them said. "Get out of the way before I make you!"

Si and Am however ignored, the wild dog, only smiling at each other, taking the wild dogs aback.

"Do you see what I see?" Si hissed loudly to Am.

"Yes," Am purred. "A mob of smelly curs."

The guards looked venomously at Si and Am, and at that moment, Leo noticed just how closely packed in the dogs were. Turning to the other cats, he said, "Okay, we're gonna have to do this all together," he said, before whispering a message to them.

"Get lost!" the wild dog ordered again.

"Oh, I think we are being threatened," Si sneered.

"Not that we'd care," Am added. "You incompetents couldn't even stop us housecats from getting in."

Enraged, the wild dogs began to growl with fury as Si and Am sat, reveling in the rage they were creating. Now Leo understood what Si and Am were doing, as they managed to enrage the dogs so much that they weren't paying attention to Lucky anymore, or anyone else for that matter.

"Do you think we should tell the bossies?" Si asked.

"Yes, and then they'll be in for a real surprise!" Am threatened.

The lead wild dog finally had enough. "Get 'em!" he shouted.

But at that moment, Leo gave the cats the signal, and at that moment, the entire mob of cats leaped onto the wild dogs. In a matter of seconds, they managed to knocking each and every dog over, as there were at least ten cats for every dog. In the confusion, Lucky broke out, and immediately ran to look for the cages. No sooner had he rounded the corner though when all went black around him as he felt an intense hit to the head, after which Lucky slumped to the ground.

"Tough luck, Luckless," Mooch laughed, swinging Two-Tone's cage back and forth from his mouth, which was rattling furiously due to the hit it had made on Lucky's head. As Two-Tone looked sadly down at Lucky, Mooch laughed, "See Tonesy? You'll always do my bidding, like it or not." Two-Tone could only glare at Mooch as he carried her cage and Rebecca's while another guard carried out Whizzer's and Dipstick's. Leo wanted to help, but knew that with the key in his possession, any attempt could only backfire.

After a long struggle, every wild dog in the room was knocked out, as were many of the cats. Fortunately, nothing worse had happened, for the sheer presence of so many cats and their agility prevented the wild dogs from getting an opportunity to land a well-aimed blow at any of them. At that moment, the cats dispersed. Some went to guard the entry to ensure no dog would enter their room. Others went to carry the cats who had been unconscious. Still others imprisoned the guards in the very cages that they were trapped in. Leo then went to the window to look down. He knew he had to give the key to one of the dogs, as leading the cats was enough of a responsibility to handle. In addition, he knew that there was little they could do in this room anymore, with the imprisoned cats freed and the guards jailed. Unfortunately however the outside guards had awoken again, making a safe escape near impossible.

Meanwhile, following the wolves' lead, the group of housedogs proceeded through the forest that led to the wild dogs' headquarters. Scamp had the grey key he helped rescue wedged in his collar, for it blended in neatly with his fur color. They were wondering if they would find Katie on the way, who had left the group to warn other dogs in nearby towns about the growing danger, but seeing as she had not returned, they assumed she must still be doing just that. After all, they had to assume that everything was going for the best, for in light of the challenges they faced, they knew they had to maintain the best morale possible.

As they reached the edge of the forest, the wolves stood solemnly, all looking at Waya in turn. "No matter what happens," he said quietly, "We shall brave this storm as best we can."

Nodding, the wolves then formed a circle, lifted their heads up and made a silent howl. Then slowly, they crept out of the woods, across the street and towards the wild dogs' territory. The housedogs stayed behind, for despite wanting to help the wolves, they knew full well that the purpose of this fight was to let them enter the wild dogs' headquarters without the guards noticing.

The moment the wolves hit the street pavement, the wild dog guards'locked eyes on them. Growling, the guards hurriedly left their posts and rushed towards the wolves. The two groups met on the sidewalk bordering the wild dogs' territory, each wolf face to face with a wild dog, only separated by an invisible line.

"What do you want?" the lead guard barked, pushing his nose right into Waya's. "This is our territory."

"Very well," Waya growled coolly. "But respecting territory goes both ways, which means that you must get your hunters off our land."

The wild dogs only responded to this with vigorous guffawing. "You think that's funny?" Neshoba asked in rage.

"Yeah," a guard answered. "'Cuz you tree-lovers have no power to stop us."

"We want nothing more than peace," Waya said. "But if you force us to, we shall defend what is rightfully ours."

"Understand?" Sequoia growled, her fangs bared.

The wild dogs looked at each other before the wild dog in front of Sequoia abruptly struck her with his a slash from his front paw. The jab caused Sequoia to fall to the ground, and although she immediately got up, the wild dogs began to erupt in a chorus of loud, crude laughter.

"How dare you attack our future alpha!" Neshoba shouted in rage, as all the other wolves, including Waya, looking at the wild dogs with pure venom. "This means death!"

And at once, the two groups launched themselves at each other, resulting in an all-out brawl. Clawing, howling, barking and scratching at each other, the fight dragged on as neither side was able to get the better of the other. While the wild dogs were on average bulkier and had more strength, allowing them to land brutal blows on the wolves, the wolves were more agile and landed quicker attacks. Through the scuffle, the housedogs looked at each other.

"It's now or never," Pongo said, watching the situation determinedly. "Everyone ready?"

Everyone else turned and nodded before steadily, they left the safety of the woods and crossed the street over to the headquarters. They could feel their hearts pounding as they took each step, the foreboding building they were about to break into continuously looming closer. Taking pains to keep their noise to a minimum as they approached the wild dogs, they were keenly aware that while their large family was an asset in so many situations, stealth wasn't one of them. The wolves however had seen them coming and stealthily moved the fight away from them, allowing the way to the door to be clear.

Passing the combatants by, the housedogs hurried through the narrow pathway, trying to ignore the strong stench of waste within the barren dirt outside. Eerie silence apart from the fighting behind them was all that surrounded them as tensely, they reached the big doors, and looking at each other, they pushed open the doors together in solidarity.

At once the door creaked, and without warning, a flash of fangs and greasy fur lunged forward, pushing the housedogs back a few feet. Within seconds, two more groups of wild dogs had rushed at them from around each of the building's corners. Before they realized what had happened, each puppy, Lady, and Peg was in the grip of a wild dog's mouth, another had pinned Spunky to the ground, two each were surrounding Pongo, Perdita, and CiCi, and four were each pinning one of Tramp's paws to the ground.

Just then, Bruce, Casey, Joe, and Harley strutted out of the building, all looking very satisfied. "Aww, I knew you suckers couldn't resist playing the hero," Harley cooed. "You can't play sneaky with us."

"Yeah, you goodies are so predictable," Joe laughed. "I knew you'd try again, so I sent our reinforcements out ..."

"Whatcha talikin' about?" Casey snapped irritably. "I did it..."

"Enough!" Bruce snapped. Turning to the other wild dogs, he declared, "Follow us. The foxhounds are waiting."

"Foxhounds?" XL gasped, shocked, as Colette desperately tried to give him a reassuring look, though being suspended by an unfriendly jaw certainly didn't help with this.

The wild dogs chuckled and assembled by the building's wall. "Get in line," Bruce ordered. "We need to show off our conquest ..."

"Now!" a voice shouted. Looking up, a tidal wave of cats had jumped down from the upstairs windows and leaped onto the wild dogs. Hissing, scratching, and biting, and outnumbering the wild dogs, the cats began to force them to release captive after captive. Seeing the unexpected challenge, the lead wild dogs ran inside, undoubtedly to prepare their next move.

Seeing the opportunity, the housedogs assembled by the front door, where they saw Leo was standing. "There you are. I found a key," Leo said, revealing a golden key clenched in his paw. "Does anyone want it? I'd hold onto it, but I can't with keeping these dogs at bay."

"Puffball, you take it," Annette suggested.

"Why me?" Puffball asked, confused.

"Because besides Leo, you're the only one with a yellow collar," Annette answered. "The gold key can camouflage with it."

"All right," Puffball answered, taking the key from Leo, and tucked the key into his collar just as the grey one was in Scamp's. While the key's bow did hang out, it only barely did so, and though it was darker than Puffball's collar, it was pretty well-concealed.

"Good luck," Leo said, before joining the fray between the cats and wild dogs. Now seeing their opportunity, the group headed in to the lair of the wild dogs, their foreboding increasing with each passing moment.


	34. Chapter 34

Hi, welcome back! First of all, I am truly apologetic for the long waits between chapters, but I am still determined to keep this story going ... And we've sure got a long way to go, as you'll see in this chapter! Thanks to everyone for reading so far and to XLR8 the Fox for all the reviews and comments. Please review any chapter if you like, I would appreciate it! As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney, and XL, CiCi, Leo and Scavenger, as well as their pets, some villains, and a couple minor characters, belong to XLR8 the Fox.

Chapter 34 - The Puppies' Last Plan

Entering the building, the group saw that the oddly gentrified yet creepy reception room, while still perfectly decorated to Vendella's tastes and reeking of cigarette smoke, was missing Vendella herself.

"She must have been punished for failing to catch us," Angel whispered cautiously as the others nodded in understanding. Indeed, the room appeared to be devoid of any wild dogs inside. They realized then just how well the diversion from the wolves and cats was working, as it seemed likely that the guards had left their posts to fight off their persistent invaders.

"I'll check behind the curtain," Scamp whispered. Quietly dashing to the curtain, Scamp peeked through it to find that directly behind it was the big workout room, which also oddly deserted. No dogs were working out on the pool and jungle gym, and most of the coaches too seemed to have left their posts. The only dogs he could see were the speech hall guards, who remained in their posts at the other side of the room. However, Scamp turned left and saw a familiar someone creeping along the wall, with a familiar horseshoe pattern of spots. Pushing open the curtain, Scamp caught Lucky's eye and beckoned him over. While keeping an eye out on the speech hall guards, it seemed as though they didn't notice anyone, so Lucky hurried over and joined the group through the curtain.

"Lucky! You're all right!" Perdita gasped in relief.

"I knew you'd get out! You always live up to your name," Patch said cheerily as they snuggled for a moment.

"Yeah," Lucky said, smiling, but with a tinge of bittersweet to his voice. "Leo and the other cats got me out. And Si and Am stopped the guards from attacking me."

"Did they really? My, I didn't know they could be this helpful!" Lady said, impressed.

"Yeah, it's all great till their idea of help's breaking our stuff again," Danielle snorted, causing the others to chuckle for a brief moment. The expression of worry returned soonest to Lucky's face, and he quickly said, "We've gotta get to the basement now. Mooch took Two-Tone and Rebecca down there. And Whizzer and Dipstick, Two-Tone convinced them to come back to us."

"Oh Lucky, that is wonderful news!" Perdita beamed. "I am so proud of her!"

Lucky nodded before saying, "Yeah, she's wonderful all right ... I just hope I'll be able to see her again," he sighed. Seeing the others' concerned expressions however reminded Lucky just how everyone was ready to help, brightening his spirits a little. Trying to regain composure to his voice, he said, "Anyway, we've got some good news. The cats and wolves drove most of the guards out, and General Fang's keeping the others busy with another mandatory pack meeting."

"Must be another of those silly old pep rallies to bring their aggression out," Cadpig sighed.

"Yeah, and by the time that's done, they'll be meaner than ever," Puffball groaned.

"Well, while they're busy, now's our chance to find those keys so we can unlock those jails," Pongo said. "Any guards left in the room?"

"Just the two guarding the speech," Scamp answered.

"Heh, today's our lucky day! We can handle them no problem," Tramp said confidently.

"I wish there was something we could do though, to stop the hate being fed to those poor, misguided puppies," Perdita sighed.

"Well mom," Cadpig beamed, her eyes twinkling brightly. "I know just the cure! We've got to give them a speech ourselves!"

"But…" Perdita began, but at that point, Scamp, Angel and Patch looked at each other significantly, and then at Cadpig, whose smile became wider and wider as her eyes continued to twinkle passionately. "My psychological studies have taught me they just need a change of perspective! I'll tell them that if they can just change their attitude, we can work together to create a utopia with peace and harmony!"

The enthusiasm in Cadpig's voice radiated through, for evidently, she had been craving an opportunity to share her vision. Rolly however, couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Cadpig, I don't think sunshine and rainbows are gonna work on a bunch of tough guys."

"No, but her speech could change the mood," Lucky pointed out fairly. "That's gotta count for something. But we need something more ... Well, real, too."

"That's where we come in," Scamp said excitedly as Angel and Patch nodded. "I really fell for all Buster's freedom and real dog stuff, so I can relate to dreams of gang life as well as anybody. But I also learned of that life's dark side and made a ton of mistakes. I can share my story to show them being a wild dog's not all it's cracked up to be and all they're missing."

"And you know how I felt like I was stuck in a sea of spots?" Patch asked. "I bet these guys didn't find a place to belong before joining. I'll share how I felt like that once, but how I learned that a home with family and friends is all you need to feel like you belong!"

"And I'll give them hope about finding a family," Angel said. "I know how tough it is to be a streetdog, especially with all the heartache I've been through and how jaded I felt. But if you have faith and never give up, there's a nice family waiting for you somewhere, and I'll tell them all the tricks I've learned to find and get adopted by one."

Everyone looked at each other in deep thought, fascinated with the idea and amazed with how Scamp's, Patch's, and Angel's experiences tied in with the narrative they created. Lady spoke next saying, "That sounds wonderful, but we must make sure you're protected."

"Well, I think we'll take care of that, right?" Tramp glanced at Lady, Pongo, Perdita, Peg, Spunky, CiCi and Jock, all of whom nodded vigorously.

"We'll patrol the place and distract the guards so you can get to work," Peg said.

"Aye, we'll keep those villains from doing ye any harm," Jock added firmly.

"You guys'll have no problem, for nothing, not even my leg, will stop us," Spunky smiled.

"Just make sure to give us a howl if you need help, all right?" CiCi asked.

The puppies nodded. With the adults, Cadpig, Scamp, Patch and Angel all knowing what to do, XL said, "So the rest of us are gonna find those keys, right?"

As everyone nodded, Lucky pointed out, "This place is huge. We've gotta spread out if we wanna find all of them."

"I'll check out that snack room," Rolly spoke up at once. "My nose'll be able to make out a hunk of metal between all those scrumptious goodies."

"Uh, Rolly, you know the food's rotting, right?" Lucky teased.

"Yeah, but there's bound to be some good bits lying around," Rolly said carelessly.

"I'm more than ready for some action to get Two-Tone back," Lucky said determinedly. "I wanna take on that guy with the key around his neck and show him a thing or two."

"Lucky, you do know he must be far bigger than you, don't know?" Penny asked.

"Relax, I've got it covered," Lucky said reassuringly.

"Well, I think that room in the back of the sleeping quarters sounds very suspicious. I mean, why else would they post guards in the hallway? I'll check it out," Penny said.

"I know what I've gotta do," Puffball said. "I've gotta go to the wreck room to fight my brother. I know he's guarding a key, and only his hatred for me could distract him into releasing it."

"Well, you're not goin' in on your own," Danielle told Puffball.

"But …"

"Trust me Puffy, I know what I'm doing," Danielle interrupted as she caressed him, who smiled back.

"I'll look in the pool," Annette volunteered tentatively.

"You sure you wanna do that sis? It's real dirty in there," Scamp warned with a slight smirk.

"I know," Annette shuddered. "But … I'm a pretty graceful swimmer, so I might be able to get it without making much noise. Besides, we'll all be getting baths when we get home," Annette teased back as Scamp groaned.

Collette, XL and Scavenger then looked at each other. "It seems like you guys covered our best guesses," she said. "Maybe the three of us should look around for other keys?"

"Yeah, and Scavenger's great at finding stuff!" XL chimed in. "You think you can sniff them out?"

"Oh yeah," Scavenger said. "You two just watch my back."

"Right," XL and Collette said as they looked at each other, reflecting their mutual determination at each other.

"Come on, group hug everyone!" Cadpig cheered, and without hesitation, everyone obliged. In those few blissful moments, all their fears and apprehension floated away as each of them were engulfed by each other's warm, furry bodies and being nuzzled, rubbed against, and embraced in turn, their happiness radiating from one to another as they felt more than ready for the challenge they faced.

With everyone knowing what they had to do, they approached the curtain together, looking at each other one last time, and with everyone nodding that they were ready, they saw the excitement brimming in each of their eyes. Then at once, they jumped through the curtain before each of them turned to head off to their respective places, for they all knew within their hearts that the time to liberate everyone and everything they held dear to them had come.


	35. Chapter 35

**Welcome back to the next chapter! The next several chapters will all be happening at the same time, but will be focus on different characters. Thanks to everyone for reading this far, and a special thanks to XLR8 the Fox for all the comments and help with writing and his OCs, which belong to him. As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians and their worlds belong to Disney.**

Chapter 35 – Do or Dive

Watching everyone heading over to their respective directions, Annette could hardly stand it. Everyone was placing their life on the line doing some dangerous mission. More than anything else, her heart yearned to join in immediately. However, with the pool being directly in the line of the vision of the guards, she knew that she would be acutely endangered by examining it. It was only after the guards laid their eyes on the adults and charged at them did she realize it was safe to check out the pool. _"Please, let everyone be all right,"_ Annette thought to herself.

Trotting over to the pool of mucky water, Annette couldn't help but to look down at its murky depths with great foreboding. She couldn't imagine the last time this pool had ever been cleaned. The water didn't look like water, rather, it looked like a deep pit of sludge and grime. Upon that thought, couldn't imagine what kinds of waste, pollution, and bacteria had grown in its depths. She had always hated dirty water just because she hated the icky feeling of it oozing through her fur, but she knew that this time, the dirty water was not only disgusting but also highly dangerous. Such a germ pit could make her seriously ill, which in the high mortal peril she was in could easily be an instant death sentence. Frantically, she tried to remember when she had her last shots, and wondered if they would help protect her in this situation. With this thought, she remembered that when she had gone to the vet, her family was always with her. The images of each of her family members, always at her side as she underwent through each painful shot, flashed through her head and warmed her heart, strengthening her resolve.

Wrinkling her nose to block the nauseating smells to preserve her clarity of thought, she walked along the edge of the pool. Scamp, Lucky and Puffball had mentioned that there was some sort of shine coming from wherever the key was. Peering into the pool, she squinted into it but couldn't see any shine at all. She took a few laps around the track, hoping to see if she could see the key from a different place, but she still was unable to find anything. Sighing, Annette lay down at the edge of the pool, staring down through the grimy water at her very faint reflection. "Maybe the key is not there," Annette sighed thoughtfully. "What am I to do then?"

As she continued to stare at the water, a feeling of deep emptiness flowed through her thoughts. " _Scamp, Puffball and Lucky saw the key, but I didn't. What if the wild dogs saw them see it? What if they took it out of the water? I wouldn't know where to look then. Come to think of it, they must have realized we have been chasing after the keys. Then we'll all fail at finding our keys. Maybe it's worthless to even try. There's no way we can all get through this. Why don't we all just give up? That way, whatever the wild dogs have got in store for us, at least we can get it over with."_

It was a cold thought, but she had to be realistic. There was little to no way that they would actually all be able to succeed, and that chances were, one by one, each of her family and friends would end up defeated at the wild dogs' paws. But thinking like this didn't make the throbbing pain and feelings of emptiness any easier. Preparing for the worst wasn't helping at all, and besides, what if the key was there? What if she did end up finding it?

"It wouldn't feel right just to give up," she said aloud. At once, her heart, so cold and empty, suddenly began to pump excitedly as a wave of energy burst through again. "They wouldn't give up for me. And I'm not going to give up for them," she said, determinedly slapping the water with her paw.

As she did, something else caught her attention. Some circular ripples emanated out from where her paw hit, and consequently, the water became a bit lighter before the area became cloudy again. _"Maybe if I can unsettle the dirt enough, I can see through the water!"_ she thought.

Normally Annette would have preferred to do things more carefully, but there was no time for that. At any given moment, a bunch of wild dogs could suddenly appear and ambush her. Sighing, she knew that there was only one way to get the key quickly, to jump in the pool and swim to get the key herself. Taking in a deep breath and preparing for her nose to burn from the noxious smells around her, Annette closed her eyes. Imagining herself and her family safe and happy at home again, she didn't take any more time and lying on her belly on the pool's edge, she pushed herself off and slid into the water.

Instantly, every fiber of her body began to fiercely shiver, especially on her chin and belly, and all she could think about was the chilling water drenching her body. Even worse, she imagined the pestilence that could be accruing within her body with each passing moment. After a few seconds though, the initial bite of the water faded away as her body became accustomed to the temperature, and after pushing the filth of the water out of her mind, Annette was able to get back to the task at hand. Looking down, she saw copious amounts of dirt were spread around the pool's floor. But along with the inevitable waste and grime, there were large amounts of dirt that looked to be soil taken from the building's front yard and poured into the pool. As she thought this, a flicker of hope sparked in Annette's head, _"They must have gotten that dirt outside to stop us from seeing through the water. Which means that that key is bound to be here!"_

Buoyed with this optimism, Annette began to paddle back and forth across the pool. Looking behind her with each stroke, she left a path of clear water wherever she stroked but was unable to see any sort of glimmer before the water clouded over again. After a few times without success, she took a break to catch her breath, paddling in place as she pondered where to check next. Preparing to continue, Annette was about to return to paddling when a small splash from the other side of the pool caught her attention. There had to be something significant at that spot. Looking underwater for a few seconds, the water was far too cloudy for her to see anything. Her heart pounding, she knew that she had to investigate that spot. But knowing that she was still in hostile territory, she knew she had to do this with stealth.

Looking at the spot and seeing that the splash had subsided, Annette began to swim along the side of the pool. By keeping her paws well within the water's depths and pawing and kicking with fluid, graceful movements, Annette was able to swim without drawing any unwanted attention. Quietly rounding two corners, Annette at last was able to approach the spot. Diving deeper as she drew closer, Annette pawed the dirt out of her vision as she moved forward. Then, through the disgusting mixture of dirt, poo, and grime, Annette saw something … Something with a bright, shiny shimmer, laying on the floor of the pool …

Her heart beating excitedly, Annette paddled down to get a closer look, but before she could go two paces, something large, round-shaped, and dark came into view. Stopping with a halt, Annette held her breath as she let herself float upward to take a much-needed gasp of air.

" _I should have known there would be guards,"_ Annette thought, desperately hoping that she was undetected as she tried catching her breath, her heart pounding vigorously. _"How do I get past them?"_

But before she could think, a gigantic splash erupted from the water, pelting Annette with dense torrents of water. Shielding her eyes as the downpour rained onto her, the next thing she knew, a giant mouth lunged forward, viciously grabbing Annette's back paw as she shrieked loudly in pain. The sound lasted only a second though for she was promptly dragged underwater. Frantically pawing to get away, her efforts were futile as with a great push, Annette was pinned against the wall, trapped firmly in place as her body struggled helplessly. Through the murky water, she could see that a haze of dark, shaggy fur was in front of her, with its front paws holding her tightly in place. Looking at her captor more closely, she wasn't able to make out any other feature of it, except for a mad, sinister smile with razor-sharp teeth grinning right at her. She tried struggling again, but it was no use, for her captor's grip did not relent, and the eerie smile only widened.

" _This is the end,"_ she thought quietly, closing her eyes, anticipating a final blow to hit her at any moment. However, after a few seconds, the blow still had not come, yet the paw on her was firmly in place. Opening her eyes, she saw that the shadowy mass was still in front of her, but the smile was no longer. Instead, a series of ripples from above the water were in its place. _"He must be taking a breath,"_ she thought. However, her heart then panged as a new thought occurred to her. _"He's trying to suffocate me!"_ she thought in alarm as the dog continued to tightly hold her against the wall. Kicking and flailing, Annette tried her hardest to escape, but the dog's grip was far too strong for her to break.

" _Figures,"_ Annette thought, her cheeks expanding as she desperately tried to hold her breath. _"Killing me with one swipe would be too simple. They'd want the most painful way of doing it."_ As she thought this, however, she realized how much more tranquil the water had become, for in the past few seconds, she realized that she had not been kicking and consequently, the dog had begun to slacken his grip.

Seeing this gave Annette an idea. Clearing her mind, she allowed herself to think of happy things like warm fireplaces, cozy cushions, and the warmth of Darling's lap. Feeling her body slacken, she allowed her head to droop back lazily, and her paws to stop flailing so her whole body was still. Desperately hoping it would work and hoping her beating heart would not betray her, she lay there and waited. Nothing happened at first and Annette, knowing she had done her best, prepared for the end. Then, just when her eyes began to feel heavy and her vision became blurry and she finally had to release the breath she was holding, the paw's grip slackened just a bit…

Her body bracing for this moment, a surge of energy coursed through Annette's body, and in one quick movement, she leaned forward to bite her captor on the paw. Shrieking in rage, her captor recoiled as Annette shot up to the surface. Taking a few much-needed breaths, she knew had no time to waste. Sure enough, the water in front of her erupted again, but she was prepared for it this time. Without wasting a second, she shot down to the depths of the water, avoiding the guard's mouth so narrowly that she could feel his stinky breath creep on her back paw.

Pawing the dirt aside, her heart jolted as she saw that she was swimming right toward a bright blue key, hooked onto a chain which was attached to the pool's drain. Pressing down onto the chain's latch, she frantically began to wiggle the key to get it off the chain. As she felt a strong current, she looked up to see that the wild dog had dived right at her, his paws swimming ravenously as his open mouth reached out to grab her like a ravenous shark. Holding onto the key for dear life, Annette veered in the opposite direction. Like a ballerina, she gracefully glided out of harm's way while the guard slammed into the pool's floor, growling with rage. With her paw still pressing onto the latch, she continued to pull until at last, she felt the key break away from the chain.

Pushing herself up to the surface, she sprang out of the water with a spin, her front paws gripping the edge as she forcibly pulled her back paws out. Turning to see that the guard was still searching the water for her, she saw her chance and with key in mouth, she ran for it **.** _"If this is the kind of excitement Scamp and Danielle like, then I'm not going to have any part in it!"_ she thought as she sprinted away, the adrenaline in her only just beginning to fade away. But at the same time, a feeling of great happiness flowed through her. Because she had not given into despair and her quick thinking, she held a piece of the puzzle to rescuing their pets in her mouth. And no matter what else happened, they at least had that going for them.


	36. Chapter 36

**Hi, welcome back to another chapter! This chapter takes place simultaneously along with the last chapter and the next several chapters of the story. As always, thanks to XLR8 the Fox for all the feedback and help writing the story, and Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians belong to Disney.**

Chapter 36 - Lucky Enough?

As he walked toward the door leading to the wrestling ring where he knew he had to fight, Lucky tried his hardest to be brave, but he had still had plenty of misgivings. Out of all the puppies, his task of getting a key off a wild dog's collar was the only one that unavoidably entailed fighting a wild dog. His prior close calls, along with the constant worry of his family as a result of them, made Lucky feel especially on edge. Though he went on plenty of adventures, especially with Cadpig, Rolly, and Spot, their chicken friend, seldom were this dangerous. The one occasion he recalled singlepawedly trying to take on an opponent, against a giant lamb named Lambo, resulted in him being tied up by duct tape and losing most of his fur in the process, and without Cadpig's quick wit, could have easily ended much worse. His heart still stinging from this humiliation, he wondered whether he had taken on a fool's mission. Looking at the horseshoe pattern of spots on his back, Lucky gained a little confidence. Between his lucky pattern and it being his namesake, Lucky remembered that between adventures with Cadpig, Rolly and Spot and escaping Cruella's clutches almost as often as the amount of siblings he had, he could afford to take this risk. He had to, for so much was at sake. His mom, his dad, his family, his friends, especially those who were captured … Whizzer and Dipstick, who had gone back to being good again ... Rebecca, who had proven to be such a good friend in such a short time … And then of course, Two-Tone … Imagining Two-Tone struggling in a cage while enduring Mooch's constant imposition and perhaps worse from any other wild dog that came by was too much for Lucky to bear.

As he reached the door, Lucky turned and realized that Rolly was going to the same door he was, but in his typical manner, was plodding to it in a far slower pace. Riddled with impatient anxiety, Lucky scampered back to Rolly. "Come on! We've gotta hurry!"

"I'll get there, but I can't hurry," Rolly replied. "I'd make too much noise and the guards'll hear me. It's tough to be sneaky when you're this big."

Lucky looked at Rolly concernedly as he continued to plod onward. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing. I know it's a bit slow, but I've gotta do this my way."

Lucky sighed, but he knew that despite how exasperating Rolly's waddling could be, he was a dependable friend who he could always count on. "Okay then," Lucky said. "See you round."

"Later," Rolly called out as Lucky dashed forward, cracked open the door, and then pushed it open further to accommodate Rolly's larger frame.

As he dashed in the snack room, he completely forgot about Chuck guarding the room before he was inside. Luckily, Chuck was too busy posing and boasting to his admirers to notice anything. Appreciating how once again luck was with him, Lucky knew that the time for action was now, and took a few paces to the right before pushing open the door to the next room.

The room was just as Angel had described it, small and hot, with a wrestling ring taking up most of its space. However, Lucky could not see the guard or the key anywhere. In a matter of seconds though, a well-muscled chocolate-colored dog with a black muzzle, back, ears and paws emerged from behind the ring, puffing out his chest and growling at Lucky intimidatingly. Around his neck was a thick iron chain around which was an orange key. In a quick bound, the dog charged at the door Lucky entered through, slamming it shut, before jumping right in front of him.

"Yo, you've come to the wrong place, housepet," the dog said. "The name's Butch, and you're going down!"

"You don't scare me!" Lucky shot back, though sounding braver than he felt. This guy seemed at least as tough as Lambo, if not more so.

"Haha, you've got some guts, punk," Butch answered. "I like that. You're gonna be a stubborn one to put down. Just what I needed, I was gettin' pretty bored." Smirking, Butch said, "Enough with the chitchat. You're gonna taste the power of us wild dogs straight from me!"

Lucky prepared to make his move, but before he could act, Butch rushed at him and reaching underneath, struck his belly with a throbbing jab. Screaming, Lucky was hurled up into the air, landing in the wrestling ring with a sickening thud. Dazed for a few seconds, Lucky realized that he was lying belly up, but before he could escape from this vulnerable position, Butch had jumped into the ring and pinned Lucky down, before proceeding to scratch at Lucky's belly a few times, smiling smugly as he did.

"Too easy," Butch laughed. "No point crying out for Mommy and Daddy. It's all over now."

Lucky squirmed and kicked with all his might, but Butch's grip was too strong as he continually laughed. "Guess you want me to get on with it," Butch snorted. "Fine by me."

Shutting his eyes, even Lucky could see that this was the end. He knew that no matter how painful it was, at least being mauled to death was short and the pain wouldn't last long. Maybe he'd join whoever else couldn't get out of their fight unscathed. Maybe he'd be with Rolly, who couldn't win a fight against even the frailest wild dog. Or Cadpig, who would be so obsessed with her ideas she wouldn't notice an ambush. Or Two-Tone, stuck with Mooch somewhere, whom he had failed to save her from yet again … Yet he failed to feel the inevitable strike...

"Damn it!" a muffled voice roared. Confused, Lucky realized that in all his agitation, he had been rolling around restlessly, and that Butch had missed, instead, biting his own leg. Hardly daring to believe his luck, Lucky raced around the room. _"That guy's real tough, but I'm not gonna give up like that again. I'm not going down, and if I do, I'm going down fighting!"_ he thought. At once, his heart began to beat excitedly, and with this new resolved, he began to run at an even faster pace.

Butch meanwhile was in hot pursuit, following Lucky relentlessly, but Lucky's small size finally was proving its use as he was able to dodge strike after strike. Weaving around each jab and swerving out of several tight corners, Lucky suddenly felt cold, hard concrete, realizing that he was backed up against a wall. Frantically, Lucky pivoted, realizing just then there was a small space between the floor and the bottom of the ring. Dashing toward the ring and pushing himself underneath, Lucky realized he was safe for now, for there was no way Butch could fit through such a tight space. Catching his breath, Lucky wondered what he could do next. He was able to evade Butch, but still was a long way from defeating him, and wondered how he could possibly do it. His thoughts were distracted however, by Butch's menacing laughter.

"Hiding, huh? Typical weakling housedog. That's okay. I love the chase, and I'll get you whenever you decide to show your wimpy face. But each second you waste hiding, that's another that your girl is our chew toy! Just think ... Your little spotted lovely, who'll be ripped ..."

Consumed with rage, Lucky raced out, his eyes dilated and panting breathlessly, and without realizing what he was doing entirely, he leaped up and skull-bashed Butch right on the belly. "You're not gonna hurt Two-Tone, got it?" he yelled.

Butch, stunned, collapsed into the corner of the ring, but before Lucky could marvel at what he had done as his adrenaline began to subside, Butch got right back up. "Now you've done it," he roared. Like a raging bull, Butch lunged at Lucky. Jumping above the ropes, Lucky's back paw was tickled by the force of Butch's bite as he broke through the rope.

Running restlessly around the room, Lucky felt Butch's hot breath continually pursue him. Fortunately, Lucky had agility going for him, allowing him to dodge the powerful but poorly aimed paw swipes at him. But soon, Lucky felt his heart burn as its ominous pounding rang within him. He was tiring faster than the wild dog, who hadn't even broken a sweat as he continued to chase Lucky and take several swings at him. Hiding wouldn't help either, as Lucky knew that Butch would wait for him to come out or just tear the ring apart if he got impatient, never mind that his agility would be of little use in a tight space. No matter what he did, it seemed that Butch's endurance would win out in the end.

 _"I'm not gonna think like that! Considering I've got away from Cruella so many times, it's gonna take more than that to stop me!"_ Lucky thought defiantly, only for those thoughts to give way to how exactly how he could win this mismatch. Racking his brains, he suddenly remembered the first fight he had ever seen, in Hell Hall where his mother and father were fighting Horace and Jasper. Remembering his mother biting Horace's jacket from the back to stall him and his father tackling Jasper to disarm him of the chair he was throwing, and remembering similarly how Thunderbolt tackled Dirty Dawson, he realized that disabling an opponent could be really powerful, regardless of how intimidating they may be. And just then, he came up with a plan.

Continuing to race around the room, nothing seemed to change for a while, as Lucky continued to avoid Butch's swipes. Then however, in the middle room, Lucky halted, panting exhaustedly. Butch leered at Lucky. "You're puppy chow," he smirked, preparing to swipe.

With a wild burst, Lucky charged through Butch's legs. "What the?" Butch asked.

Then Lucky made his move and jumped right onto Butch's back, where he lay down, grabbing Butch's sides with his front paws to secure himself while grabbing Butch's chain with his teeth. Instantly, Butch roared, "Get off!" Lucky however, held on for dear life. Butch then tried snapping at Lucky, but Lucky scooted himself as close to Butch's neck as he could to avoid his mouth. Butch continued trying, but no matter how hard he tried, Butch couldn't turn around and reach Lucky, for Lucky was too close to his short neck for Butch to be able to turn around and bite him.

Howling angrily, Butch charged throughout the room, desperately trying to shake Lucky off, rearing up on his front paws and kicking his back paws up in the air. A couple times he nearly succeeded, as Lucky felt his back side bouncing off Butch over and over again. However, as this happened, Lucky thought about his family and friends, most of the all the girl who won his heart. There was no way he was going to let go, not when he was this close to having his chance.

As Butch paused, huffing with infuriation, Lucky made his next move. Reaching underneath, he began to furiously tickle the larger dog's belly. At once, Butch shouted, "How da….re…" But uncontrollably, he couldn't help but to snicker as Lucky continued to tickle him underneath.

"THAT'S IT!" Butch roared, trying to buck Lucky off but failing as Lucky continued to tickle him. Butch then reached his head around try to bite at Lucky's paw, as Lucky swerved it back and forth, desperately trying to keep his paw out of Butch's reach. With Butch intensely focused on biting Lucky's paw and trying to get him off, Lucky leaned over and began to tug at the chain that Butch was wearing, spinning it around the snapping dog's neck. At last, he flipped it upside down, revealing an orange key right next to the latch. Pressing down on the latch hurriedly while swerving his paws out of Butch's biting range, Lucky ripped the key off the chain, before pulling the entire chain off Butch's neck, before jumping off, key and chain in mouth.

"You're gonna die!" Butch roared as Lucky ran to the door, with Butch in hot pursuit. Unfortunately in the heat of the moment, Lucky forgot that the door in front of him was shut and that there was no time to open it. As Butch was only a few seconds away, there was only one thing Lucky could think of. _"Here goes,"_ he thought, before putting the key down and hurling the chain straight up in the air. "This is for Two-Tone!" he shouted.

Winding in all directions like a snake, the chain dropped precipitously, and with a big clank, it landed right on top of Butch. The force of the falling, heavy object was enough to knock Butch to the ground, landing with a big thud. Lucky meanwhile, slid out of the way just in time, and turned to see Butch, lying on the ground, unconscious.

Grabbing the key, Lucky glared at the unconscious Butch for a few seconds. "You think you guys can stop us, but you're not gonna have it your way. We've got so much we're fighting for, and together, with our teamwork and love for each other, we're gonna stop you once and for all!" he growled.

As he watched Butch lying there, he couldn't help but think how proud everyone would be of him. Not only did he live up to his name by escaping yet again, he singlepawedly defeated a ferocious opponent. Remembering his embarrassing pummeling by Lambo and his complete helplessness against Cruella, he realized he came a long way from the puppy that always needed to be rescued and felt a surge of self-worth inside. He couldn't wait to tell Rolly and Cadpig of what happened, and in turn, listen to whatever their exploits were. Then he imagined what Two-Tone would think and imagined her face, round and shining like a glittering pearl, looking happily at him. _"I'm gonna get you out of there, Two-Tone,"_ Lucky thought. _"And together with everyone else, nothing's gonna stop us!"_

Then jumping up, Lucky pushed the opened the door. As he walked out with key in mouth, he wondered how Rolly was doing, excited for a chance to catch up with him. What he saw in the snack room however, caught him quite off-guard.


	37. Chapter 37

**Hi, welcome back with another chapter! Thanks to everyone for reading this far, and especially thanks to XLR8 the Fox for all the help and reviews on the story. Please rate/review/fave if you like the story, I appreciate feedback! As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their worlds belong to Disney.**

 **Chapter 37 - The Nose Always Knows**

Rolly smiled gratefully as he saw Lucky push the door open for him as he steadily move toward it. He knew that it was hard for Lucky, who had always been skinny and quick, to understand his slowness. But Lucky was nevertheless accepting of it and lending a paw to give Rolly an easier time of sneaking through the door. This attitude of love and acceptance, regardless of his weight, was something Rolly was grateful for. Bullies like Mooch had often given him grief about being fat in the past, but with his family and friends, he never got comments about his weight apart from some good-natured teasing, and some gentle reminders to stay healthy from his parents, and for that, he was eternally grateful. Apart from appreciating his family's warm acceptance, he also felt free to explore his love of food, thus allowing him truly to be himself. These feelings warmed Rolly's heart as he approached the door as quickly as he could, though considering his bulk, was not especially fast.

Thinking about the task ahead of him, Rolly knew that neither his strength or speed was to be depended upon and was certainly no match for any the wild dogs. To turn the tables on them, he had to find other ways to get to the key. The one thing he had going for him however, was his finely tuned nose, able to separate the smell of smoked bacon and ham from a mile away. He knew that the snack room was bound to be an environment filled with smells and because of this, he knew he would be more useful looking for a key here than in the other places.

As he approached the room, the smell of rotting meat drew closer to him. Licking his lips, Rolly knew that what was around him certainly wasn't filet mignon, but to his empty stomach, it may as well have been. Unbeknownst to him however, the invigorating odor of the meat subconsciously quickened his pace. Before he knew it, he was only a few yards away from the door, when a loud, arrogant boast stopped him in his pawprints.

"You know what happened next?" the voice drawled. "I mangled that mastiff's neck. He tried biting back, but he didn't have a chance. That housedog hadn't bit anything more than a chew toy. I held on and on with one bite until I took care of him. Am I great or what?" he asked to some oohs and ahs.

Peering in the door to investigate, Rolly saw that an apricot-colored spaniel was sprawled out on a stool, posing like a model and puffing out his large, bulging muscles. He smirked cockily as two wild dogs fawned over him, panting excitedly as they offered him slabs of the rotting meat. Knowing instantly that this must have been the Chuck that Angel was talking about and why she spoke about him with such disgust, Rolly backed away, unable to stand looking at him anymore.

Then, Rolly felt his heart begin to pound. _"Hold on. There's a mandatory pack meeting going on. What's he doing here then? Unless he's on guard duty. And if he's on guard duty then … There's gotta be a key here!"_

Panting excitedly, Rolly took another peek into the room. Unfortunately, the way Chuck was sprawled out, he was facing the door and would notice Rolly the moment he walked inside. _"Lucky must have gotten in somehow,"_ Rolly thought. Thinking of how Lucky would've tried to get through, Rolly's heart sank. _"Probably really fast. Too fast for me. But there's gotta be another way."_

Continuing to peer inside, Rolly saw that Chuck's admirers paced around his chair as he flashed suggestive smiles and poses at them. His admirers, meanwhile, put their forepaws on the stool's seat as they stared up, panting excitedly as their tails wagged madly. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration came to Rolly. The way they stand, right in front of Chuck and blocking his view of the door, may give him an opportunity!

As the next admirer stood face to face with Chuck, Rolly stepped into the room, unnoticed. Immediately, he looked to his left and saw a small bucket. Taking a couple of steps closer, Rolly then stretched out, grabbed the bucket and put it over him. At first, the bucket wouldn't cover him entirely, but by folding his paws in and tucking his butt a little bit, Rolly managed to cram himself under the bucket. Taking a few breaths as a few stale kibbles and some kibble crumbs fell on top of him, which he couldn't help but to lap up, Rolly knew he was safe so long as nobody noticed anything about the bucket. Luckily, no one seemed to, as one of Chuck's admirers excitedly asked, "Tell us another one, Chuckie!"

"Yeah! Please!" the other one asked.

"All right babes," Chuck smirked, causing them to swoon and sigh. "Wanna hear how I put that retriever through the ringer?"

Trying to ignore the gruesome words oozed out by Chuck as he started off his new story, Rolly set his mind to focus solely on the cornucopia of succulent smells around him. Even though the meats were far from fresh, he could still make out the individual flavors of chicken, beef, rabbit, and liver wafting throughout the room, and despite the staleness of the food, his stomach began to gurgle ferociously **.** Licking his lips as he imagined eating gigantic portions of each thing he smelled, Rolly reluctantly forced his mind off the food as his stomach throbbed in protest. Through all these other powerful smells however, it was difficult to make out the specific smell of the key **.** Though he could smell plenty of metal, he knew that it was probably coming from the various food cans littered throughout the place **.** Thinking about it as Chuck continued to drawl on,Rolly wondered how he could separate the smell of the key from that of the vast array of cans. After pondering for a while, he realized that the key's scent would have had to smell differently from the cans in two one, the key was much less likely to smell food, since it had not stored any inside of it. And for another, its metal was likely to smell rustier, since a given key was almost certain to be older than a perishable food item.

Racking his brains, he knew he had to come up with a way to find that foodless, especially rusty bit of metal quickly. The problem was, in a room filled with such savory smells, how could he find the one thing that was unappetizing? Then he remembered Cadpig talking about using reverse psychology at one point. He didn't really know what she meant, but putting the two words together, he got an idea. _"Hey, if I treat finding that key like finding kibble, maybe I'll find it better."_ Sighing, he pondered, _"How could I imagine crummy metal tasting good?"_

Wondering how this could be possible, Rolly let his mind drift to what would taste really good now. _"A few bacon cheeseburger patties would be great,"_ he thought, imagining himself slouched on the couch with a few patties at the ready, imagining their thin, brown, circular shape that within seconds would bring true and utter joy to his taste buds … So good that they would even cause Penny to salivate, who usually somehow remained relatively calm with fresh food …

 _"Maybe Penny likes them because they look kinda like pennies,"_ he thought **. "** _Except pennies smell really old and rusty. That's it! I've gotta be searching for something that smells like pennies, but I've got to imagine that those pennies are bacon cheeseburgers. And besides, that key will lead to some real bacon cheeseburgers once we get out of this rotten place."_

Feeling freshly inspired, Rolly sighed and set his mind to work, trying to imprint the bizarre association firmly in his mind. Closing his eyes, he imagined a jar of old, rusty pennies, with their pungent metallic odor, darken and expand to become nice, juicy bacon cheeseburgers before his eyes. Imagining the transformation a few times and seeing the pennies morph into cheeseburgers over and over again, the association in his mind stuck, and soon, he began to salivate just by imagining the pennies. At that point, his heart began to beat quickly, for he knew he was finally ready.

Moving slowly and clumsily under the protection of the bucket, Rolly didn't notice where he was going as his nose set to work. All that mattered was that he was following his nose to the smell of the rusty metal, which in turn would lead to the prize, just as the connection did in his head.

He was so deeply into sniffing for the metal that he didn't realize his clumsy bucket tipped over a few cans, causing them to clang loudly against the concrete floor. This realization however, was not lost on one of Chuck's admirers asked, "Chuckie, what's that?" Hearing that instantly made Rolly seize up with panic as he waited for Chuck to respond.

"Eh, who cares? I thought you wanted to hear my story!" Chuck exclaimed indignantly.

"Oh, we do, honest!"

"Good, because I've saved the best for last," Chuck said, before returning to drone on. Rolly knew then that he had to be more careful. Luckily though, he knew he didn't have to go much further, for the strong stench of the rusty metal was right near him. His nose vigorously sniffing as it scraped against the floor, Rolly honed in on the old metallic scent until it began to overpower all of the over scents around him. Tentatively, he cracked the bucket up just enough for him to stick his large chubby arm out. Grabbing randomly, Rolly felt nothing but air and the concrete for a while, but at last touched something hard, cold, and undeniably metal. Reeling it in, he kept the bucket cracked up for a little light, only to discovery thathad found a ravioli can. Disappointed, Rolly lifted the barrel again, preparing to scoot the can outside when he knocked it over and heard a ka-chink from inside.

Intrigued, Rolly picked up the can and stuffed his other oversized paw inside. His hand became stuck, but as he flexed his paw around, he felt something inside. Flexing his paw out to grab it, Rolly then struggled to pull his paw along with the object out of the can. Eventually, with a fierce tug, he was able to pull his paw out, and upon looking at the object clutched within it more closely, he realized it was a key adorned in a shade of banana yellow … But how was he able to tell what color it was under a bucket?

"Well, well, turned out those airheads were useful for something," a voice drawled condescendingly **.** Looking up, Rolly's heart sank as he saw Chuck leering down at just how absorbed he had been in getting the key out, he knew that through that endeavor he must have made a lot of noise and caught Chuck's attention, who must have come over and promptly removed his protective bucket. Evidently, he was finished telling his stories, with his admirers gone, and now it was just him and Rolly in the room. "Clever for a fat blob like you to hide. But now your luck's over. It's time to get crushed!"

With a quick slash, Chuck struck Rolly hard on the belly, revealing a deep gash and causing Rolly to groan and place his paw against his injury in pain. "This is too easy, slowpoke!" Chuck laughed, pummeling Rolly back with a punch, causing him to roll backwards. Laying dazed on his belly, Rolly groaned as Chuck strutted over to him, smiling triumphantly. "You've got nowhere to go! You can't run with your fat, and you can't fight with your flab! Surrender now and I'll kill you quick and easy."

Rolly sighed, knowing unfortunately, in all likelihood, Chuck was right. There was no way he could take Chuck on in paw to paw combat. Nor was there any way for him to outrun him. He looked around him, his path blocked off by rotting meat and cans in every direction … He was just like he was with the bullies, completely helpless as he was trapped by them, once again.

 _"But this isn't just me! This is all of us, and I've gotta do something. Even if it's really stupid."_

Without even consideration of questioning himself, Rolly did the only thing he could think of. Picking up the can the key was in, he threw it straight at Chuck's face. It landed with a hard thunk, forcing Chuck to pause and shake it off as he glared at Rolly in loathing. "You housedog blimp! Now it's personal!" he roared, and positioned himself to charge toward Rolly.

Looking around desperately, Rolly saw that in front of him lay one last chance, the bucket that he had used from before. Clasping the key in his paw, he bit onto side of the bucket as Chuck took a running leap at him. Taking aim as he lifted the bucket back, Rolly swung the bucket as hard as he could and managed to hit Chuck right on the belly. The force of the bucket and Rolly's firm bite sent Chuck flying toward the other wall, which he crashed into before flopping onto the ground.

As his heartrate returned to normal, Rolly walked over and saw that Chuck was unconscious but still had a pulse. _"I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore. Fighting's not my thing,"_ he thought.

Just then, Lucky walked out of the door to the arena, with an orange key in his mouth. At once, his eyes fell onto Rolly and the unconscious Chuck, and he dropped his key in shock. "Whoa Rolly," Lucky said, impressed. "You actually fought that guy!"

"Yep," Rolly said simply. "I just had to do it my way."

The two of them just stared at each other. A warm, bubbly feeling rose up in both of them, as they began to fully comprehend that not only did they each find their key and defeat their opponent, but so did the other, and now they were both together, safe and sound. "I love you!" they both shouted at once, and they wrapped their paws tightly around each other for a brotherly hug.

Then the two of them walked out of the room, their keys clenched firmly in their mouths. But as Rolly walked, he just wished he could have something more tasty than an old key in his mouth. No matter how positively he imagined how good a key would taste, the actual taste of the key was still as bad as he would've expected beforehand. _"Oh well,"_ said Rolly. _"I'll eat those bacon cheeseburgers soon. But I'll eat them with my family and friends at my side, and that's what really matters."_


	38. Chapter 38

**Hi and welcome back to another chapter! Very sorry about the long wait here, but I've got myself motivated to finally put out this chapter I've been working on.**

 **Also, an announcement to all my readers here - Once this story is done (which will maybe be about 50-60 chapters I'm guessing?), XLR8 the Fox and I intend on collaborating with a joint series of shorts, focusing on the various major characters as they have all kinds of fun and adventure! These will be considerably lighter in tone than the two multi-chapter stories here; certainly K/K+ content. I also however am considering writing fanfictions in other fandoms when this is done, which will take up much of my writing time and energy, so my time will be limited in this regard. Still I look forward to writing these new shorts!**

 **As always, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and their worlds belong to Disney, and XLR8 the Fox's characters belong to him.**

Chapter 38 – Challenge the Conditioning

Walking cautiously, Penny ventured out of the lit gymnasium into the dark, dingy hallway, the light behind her vanishing with each passing step. She shuddered as she walked, for though she faced danger before, she always had company, especially from Patch, for some much-needed moral support. She thought about her adventures with Patch and realized how well the two of them complemented each other. She was always there to stop him from doing anything too reckless, and he encouraged her to make dares she otherwise wouldn't. Doing an adventure on her own was something that she was quite unaccustomed to, and the feeling of danger of undergoing a dangerous mission continued to gnaw at her, as did whatever Patch might be doing, for his boldness could be very dangerous unchecked. But she shook her head. She had to assume Patch was doing fine, and she had a task to do critical to all their success. With her heart beating but her mind resolved, she reached the end of the hallway and rounded the corner.

To her surprise, the dark hallways seemed to be completely empty. While she expected most of the wild dogs were in the auditorium or out terrorizing whatever housedog still remained, the lack of guards patrolling the halls wasn't something she expected, considering the close calls the others had. _"Perhaps they're fighting outside,"_ Penny thought, but she couldn't help but notice that the sound of her paws hitting the dirt was conspicuous in the otherwise silent hall. _"I must be careful of an ambush."_ Then her eyes drifted upon the giant wanted poster, causing her to uncontrollably flinch and audibly gasp. Realizing what she just did, she seized up before turning around to see if she was spotted. Luckily, no one else was approaching. Sighing in relief, Penny told herself, _"I better not react like that again. All I need to do is keep focused and quiet."_

Penny continued to walk down the hall, looking back to make sure she wasn't being followed. Peering into the rooms before passing them by, she was amazed to see that none of them had anyone occupying them. As she went further down the hallway, a slight drone caught her attention. Pausing to listen, the sound seemed to come from some point straight ahead. Wondering what it could possibly be coming from, Penny squinted in an attempt to get a good look, but all she could see is the dark depths of the hallways. She sighed, for she knew that there was no other way to find out what that sound was other than to go there herself.

Walking cautiously, Penny began to see that a blurry outline of a door was drawing nearer. So too was the sound, which she began to realize was that of an adult female dog with a slow, smooth voice. Upon figuring this out, Penny held her breath. It wasn't a voice she heard before and sounded far too calm to be a trapped housedog, so it had to be a wild dog. She listened intently before it occurred to her that the dog could come out any point and attack. Just as she looked for a place to hide, she realized that the dog was still talking, but interestingly, without a response from anyone else.

Puzzled, Penny crept toward the door. As she drew even closer, she could hear the voice, in that same slow, smooth manner purr, "Humans are evil. Humans hurt dogs. Housedogs can't be trusted. Housedogs side with humans. Housedogs betrayed us. Housedogs are the enemy. We must stop them."

To Penny's astonishment however, the dog's voice repeated, saying the exact same phrases with the same tone of voice, before repeating again and again. Before she knew it, Penny was right in front of the door, which was cracked ajar as the voice continued its sinister drone.

Peering through the crack, Penny stared into the room. Just like the rest of the hallway, it was very dark, though Penny's eyes were adjusted well enough not to notice. It was otherwise a barren room, with rows of boxes throughout, and a large table at the end.

Slipping through the door, Penny walked over to the nearest box to investigate. At once, she gasped and instantly stepped back, hardly daring to believe what she saw at first. Looking again though, she realized that her eyes did not deceive her. Stirring at the bottom of the box was a newborn white with black patches puppy, shivering frightfully. Her eyes melting with compassion, Penny couldn't help but stick her paw inside and gently embrace the puppy within her paw, which the puppy desperately clung onto for warmth. Thinking back to her earliest memories, warming up with her siblings in her mother's love, she was appalled to see the conditions these newborn puppies were in. _"How could they separate these puppies from their parents like that?"_ she thought.

With that thought in mind, Penny looked back up, silently panicking for a little as she checked her surroundings, but still, the coast was clear. Walking down the aisles, Penny saw that box after box contained shivering puppies inside. As she briefly stopped at each box to provide each puppy a bit of much-needed warmth, she tried sniffing for metal but could not immediately detect the scent.

Moving down the rows however though, she saw that the puppies tended to be a little larger in size and noticed that a few of them were murmuring aloud. Curious to see what they were saying, Penny placed her ear against the box, and heard a few whimpers saying, "Humans … evil … humans … hurt doggies …"

Penny recoiled her head out of the box as nearby, she heard those same words once again repeated by that monotonous voice. Backing up, powerful urges of rage flowed through her, as she wanted to do something, anything, to whoever could mistreat those poor little puppies like that. But then an inner voice quietly said to her _, "Take a moment to calm down. Don't do anything reckless. That's just what they'd want."_

Sighing, Penny knew that as angry as she was, it would require great care and caution to end this atrocity once and for all. Reluctantly, she forced her mind back to the key that she knew had to be in the room somewhere. As she focused, she heard the voice droning on in the background. Turning for the source of the sound, Penny could see that still, there were no adults around. However, she noticed that the voice was a lot louder than it was when she walked in. Then it hit her to check out the table, which she was right beside.

Quietly, Penny sunk her claws in the table's legs. She was not a natural at climbing like Leo, but she knew that if she moved slowly enough, she could inch up to the table without making any noise. After a few heaves upward while maintaining a strong grip, Penny pushed herself onto the table. The table was barren, except for a rectangular shape, which Penny approached. "A record player!" she gasped, her heart jolting. Suddenly, it hit her just where that noise was coming from, and now was her chance to stop it. Creeping over to the record player, Penny hit the switch. The record came to a halt, and Penny pushed the stylus away and picked up the record. Taking a small bite in the middle, Penny broke the record covertly, before setting it back in place to make it look as if nothing had happened. It was in everyone's best interest to do things sneakily, for that way, it would take longer for the wild dogs to notice. _"Well, at least I've stopped some mind control,"_ Penny thought indignantly.

It was then that Penny realized a metallic scent was close by, just past the record player. Leaning over, she saw that there was a dog bed at the player's side, where a small black dog was sleeping. _"Of course,"_ Penny thought. _"That must be the guard. And they must have the key with them."_

Hesitantly, Penny looked at the guard. Dare she get closer? It was very risky after all. But if she could break the record without waking the guard, she might have a chance. Gulping, Penny wove her way behind the record player and approached the dog bed. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the guard was a female floppy eared dog superficially looking a little like Lady, though much more rugged in appearance. Fortunately, she appeared to to be sleeping soundly.

Penny looked over the dog bed carefully. Though she couldn't see a key anywhere, the smell of one was unmistakable. Looking over the guard, she couldn't see the key either, yet as her nose approached the bed, the smell grew even more powerful. Penny sighed, knowing that this could only mean one thing – that the guard was sleeping on it.

Everything about this seemed unbearably risky, but how else was she going to get the key? Poking her paw in the bed, Penny gently fed it under the guard until she touched something cold and narrow. Penny prodded the key closer and closer, until its head stuck out. Leaning closer to the key, Penny pressed her teeth against the metal, preparing to take it away …

Then abruptly, her breathing became constricted. Looking up alarmedly, Penny saw the guard, standing over her, with her paw tightly clutching Penny's neck. "Well done," the guard smiled, her dark eyes feeling like pits within her copious blood-red eyeshadow. "You've come to me just like I wanted."

Penny sighed, instantly recognizing the dog's voice from the one on the record. _"I should have expected this,"_ Penny thought dourly. She felt she had acted too rashly, and now there was no one, not even Patch, who could help her out of this. The guard smiled at her coolly. "You must be Penny. Cute but meaningless name, just like yourself," she smiled maliciously. "My name is Darcie. I thrive in darkness, raising our future fighters, and of course, catching prey like you. Oh yes," Darcie sneered. "You were mine from when you poked your paw in this room. All I had to do was wait."

"Why?" Penny asked, struggling to breathe.

"Why?" Darcie echoed, smirking as she slackened her grip on Penny's neck, instead pinning her down by her collar gleaming. "Why what?"

"You say you raise these little puppies?" Penny asked.

"Of course," Darcie answered.

"Well, why do you take them away from their parents? Why are you letting them freeze? Aren't you aware some of them … might …"

"Die?" Darcie asked as Penny nodded. Chuckling, Darcie shook her head. "The kennel club set will never understand our brilliance, but I'll entertain you anyway. Well for one thing, our fighters need to be loyal to the pack and the pack alone. We can't have parents in the way to divide their loyalties," she continued. "And you've heard my lovely voice, telling them what to think before they can even question, strengthening our complete control over them," she smirked. "But of course, we can't just have any dog join our pack. Any dog worth it has to prove themselves. That's why I paw-feed them just enough of my pure wild dog milk to survive, and just enough warmth … For the strong to survive, and for the weak … to not."

"That's just wrong!" Penny exclaimed angrily, glaring at Darcie as she smirked. "Puppies need love and nourishment to become good dogs!"

"Aww, poor you and your bleeding heart," Darcie sneered. "Here, let me put you out of your misery," she said, and before Penny could move, Darcie shoved her off the table. Crashing into the wall, Penny lay on the ground. Dazed, Penny lay as Darcie approached her, giving her another hard swipe. Penny however, knew that the only way she could get out of this was through stealth, and remembering how Spunky escaped Buster, she got an idea. Despite the stinging pain, Penny didn't scream, and instead focused her hardest on making her body appear limp. Seeing Penny's lack of a reaction, Darcie chuckled before jumping back on the table before proceeding to repeat the phrases aloud that she had said in the recording.

Penny lay on the ground, not daring to move as Darcie continued talking. Then however, she realized she had an opportunity. With Darcie seeming to think she was dead and otherwise occupied, she had an opportunity to seize the key, which shimmered as it sat in Darcie's bed. She knew she just needed to have enough patience to pull this off.

The minutes dragged on as Penny lay down, watching the key determinedly as Darcie continued to drone on to the puppies as they slept. Luckily, Darcie wasn't watching Penny at all, instead watching the sleepy puppies as she sunk further and further into her chant. Sighing, Penny began to walk slowly and silently forward. It was still risky, but she had done all she could to minimize the risk and she knew there would never be a chance of getting the shimmering purple key before her as good as this.

Staring at the key, Penny positioned herself right at the table's edge. Then with a great jump, she seized the key and without a second thought, dashed out of the room. Darcie immediately stopped chanting and shouted, "Housedog! Guards, get her!"

However, Darcie failed to realize that the guards who would normally be patrolling the hallways were driven outside. Penny then saw a chance, and out of view, she called out in a gruff voice, "Got it boss!"

"Good. I'd get her but I've got to watch over the newborns. Now go!"

"Right," Penny answered again before making a few growls to keep the illusion up. Her heart swelled with relief and triumph as she looked at the purple metal sticking her mouth. They had a long way to go, but she had successfully outsmarted the guard to get her friends and family one step closer to the ultimate goal.


	39. Chapter 39

**Here we go with another chapter! Thanks for coming this far. Please feel free to comment if you wish! All of my usual credits and disclaimers apply here as they do with every other chapter. Hope you enjoy this update!**

 **Chapter 39 – Brotherhood Brawl**

Hurrying away from the other puppies, Danielle and Puffball headed to the stairs at the other end of the room. Seeing the look of intense stress on her boyfriend's face, Danielle's heart panged as she knew just how much his past with these dogs still traumatized him. "Don't worry Puffy. We're almost there," she said. "We're gonna take this group down, and Scamp and the others will talk sense in the ones who aren't bad guys. Trust me, I know most of them aren't bad, just misled."

"I hope," Puffball sighed, before looking at her worriedly. "Just don't think you can change my brother like that. I don't wanna see you get hurt."

"Right," Danielle said, "But ... Aren't you gonna talk to him?"

"Yeah, but just to buy you time. The only thing that can distract him from his duties as a top wild dog … Is his hatred of me," Puffball said shivering.

"Puffy, you know how you're gonna beat him?" Danielle asked. "I mean, he's such a psycho! And I don't want you to be hurt either."

"Well … not really. But … I've gotta try," Puffball said doubtfully.

"I know we can," Danielle said, her shining brown eyes warmly boring into his dilating green ones, and wrapped her paw around her boyfriend as they approached the stairs. "Wilder may be big and tough, but he can't stop the two of us together!"

"I really hope you're right," Puffball sighed. "And … In case we don't make it …"

"Pfft! We will Puffy!" Danielle cut him off. "We escaped from Cruella. We got the big key out. And we'll beat your brother too."

Puffball smiled weakly before saying, "I just love your optimism, Dani. Really, you totally saved my life. And not just physically. You gave my life a new sense of meaning and made me feel happy for the first time."

"Aww!" Danielle smiled, "That's so sweet, Puffy! And I feel the same way too."

The two puppies made it up the stairs and cautiously trudged down the hallway. "You wait here," Puffball said as they got to the wreck room's entrance. "I'll distract him, then you grab the key. Sound good?"

"Yep," Danielle said confidently, giving Puffball a confident smile. Then the two of them engaged in one last hug before Puffball sighed and sidled into the room, his head skirting the ground, as a familiar voice jeered out. "Hey! Looks like someone's lost."

Puffball looked up, and his eyes narrowing in anger, he stared at his brother, who was confidently seated on what had always been his favorite couch. "Wilder," Puffball muttered.

"Haha, ya didn't forget about me, Puffy," Wilder sneered. "Of course I'll never forget about you. The one blot on my mojo. Even stooping as low as to become one of them," staring at Puffball's collar. "Oh yeah, where's your little girl toy? Wait, don't tell me. She ditched ya. Cuz no one wants to hang around with a loser like you. Ain't that right?"

Danielle instinctively took a few steps forward, but paused, looking at Puffball and remembering what he said earlier. Retreating, she realized Wilder was trying to bait them, and she saw Puffball's body language remained impassive, evidently used to his brother's taunts and focused on the task at hand.

"Just as I expected," Wilder sneered. "So why'd you drop in? Even you'd know that I'd be waiting to turn ya into kibble, 'specially with that collar. Don't tell me you wanna join us, cuz we'd never take a weakling like you."

"No," Puffball answered at last, and gathering all his resolve, he stared into his brother's eye. "I … I want …

"Speak up, pipsqueak," Wilder chided.

"I … I wanna challenge you," Puffball gasped.

Wilder's smirk widened as he broke into a thunderous laugh, hitting the couch with his paw aggressively. "Yeah, right."

"No really," Puffball answered. "To settle the score with you."

"That's real funny, but even you're not that stupid," Wilder sneered. "You're up to something and I'm not fallin' for it."

"You sure? Because I've got something you want," Puffball smiled tantalizingly, pulling out the golden key out of his collar.

Wilder stared at it, his eyes narrowing with rage. "How did you get that?" he asked as Puffball smirked mysteriously.

"All right, now you really asked for it," Wilder roared, and bounding off the couch, he took a swipe at Puffball. Puffball jumped back, but not before Wilder's claw was able to graze Puffball's cheek, leaving a visible gash.

Watching the scene, Danielle stiffened her resolve. "Puffy's not gonna hold Wilder off forever. I've gotta make my move," she thought. As Danielle crept into the room, Puffball loudly asked, "That's all you got?"

"Heh, you ain't seen nothing yet," Wilder said as he took another swing at Puffball. Puffball dodged it and dashed over to a couch on the other side of the room, and climbed under the cushion, gripping onto it tightly as he held it over his head, his only shield against his brother's ravaging mouth.

Danielle's heart began racing as Wilder followed. "Coward! You're really acting like prey now. But that's okay, I like the chase!" He began to paw in the cracks to reach Puffball. Quickly seeing that didn't work, Wilder began to claw into the already greatly damaged couch, hoping to scratch Puffball through the cushions.

With Wilder fully distracted, Danielle dashed into the room. She knew she had to focus for all of her family's sake, and reluctantly ignored the brawl in the background and began to ponder the location of the key. Knowing that it was in the room somewhere, Danielle sniffed a little bit, but with all the metal in the pikes of broken furniture, the key's smell was not easy to sort out. Then it occurred to her – the key had to be hiding in the safest spot in the room. And where else could that be besides the place where Wilder always sat? The spot that he would not dare let anyone else even approach?

With a quick bound, Danielle hurried over and jumped on the tattered and stained off-white couch. Quickly seeing the key wasn't on the couch's surface, she pawed at the cushion's edges. Running her paw through the cracks between the cushions, then along the sides of the couch, and then behind the back cushions, she couldn't locate the key anywhere. Undeterred, she bit onto the cushions and threw them off the couch before examining its deck, causing it to eerily creak as she moved. Looking to see if Wilder noticed, she saw he was still digging at Puffball's cushion, but unfortunately, his fangs had deeply ripped through the cushions padding to the point where she knew it wouldn't be long before they would tear through the cushion altogether. Examining the deck with renewed urgency, Danielle stuck her paw between its cracks, but couldn't see anything … Except for a tiny little sparkle in the crack behind the deck.

Her heart pounding, Danielle threw herself off the couch and pressed herself down to just be at floor level. She couldn't see anything, but she was not deterred. She knew in her heart she wasn't seeing things, and without another thought, she pushed herself underneath the couch, reaching her paws out in every direction. With her belly scraping the floor and giving her some friction burns, Danielle undeterredly scooted along, having to fight back not only the friction burns but also the urge to sneeze due to the heavy amounts of dust underneath. Hardly daring to breathe, she reached the back, before turning to look along the back side. Once she was along the side of the back wall, Danielle gasped and smiled in delight for right in front of her was a sparkling key which even in the darkness could be seen as a brilliant shade of light green. Reaching out, she grabbed the key and clutched onto it. Unable to control it any longer however, she finally let out a sneeze. But this was no time to celebrate. She had her boyfriend to save.

Slipping out underneath, Danielle saw that Puffball's grip on the cushion was beginning to weaken as it slowly began to fall apart with increased tension. Hurriedly, Danielle charged over to her boyfriend. With her key tucked in mouth, she threw her head back and flung the key at Wilder. The flying metal object hit Wilder right on the back, causing him to recoil in pain before like a boomerang, the key returned to Danielle's mouth. Glaring, Wilder looked over at Danielle, his eyes narrowed. "What have we got here?" he jeered. "Puffy's little girl?"

"That's right!" Danielle shouted boldly. "And proud of it!"

"Heh heh," Wilder said, and in a flash, he leaped off the couch, and before she could move, Wilder grabbed Danielle by the collar. Her heart pounding, Danielle clutched onto the key even tighter. So far, Wilder didn't seem to notice it, but she had to make sure it would stay that way.

"Hey loser!" Wilder yelled out. "Get out of hiding! I've got your girly toy!"

Danielle however, continued to kick and scream, biting at Wilder whenever he swung her close enough to bite him. "You leave Puffy alone from now on, you sick creep!" she roared in anger. She had been dying to get this out since she first met Puffball and learned about his tormentor of a brother, and now was her chance. "I'm not gonna let you hurt another fur on his head!"

And at once, she leaned forward and with all the force she could muster, kicked Wilder in the chin. Wilder howled with pain, dropping Danielle's collar as she scurried over to the couch where Puffball was at. "I'm gonna get ya, bitch," he bellowed, holding a paw up as he took aim at Danielle.

But a moment later, Puffball stood up from under the cushion, bit onto it, and chucked it at Wilder. It hit Wilder squarely in the chest, sending him dropping to the ground where he lay unconscious.

Danielle and Puffball ran to each other and before they knew it, they collided together and melted into a tight embrace. "I can't believe you're safe!" Puffball gasped.

"Yeah! Like I said, nothing can stop us." Danielle said happily, before turning to the unconscious Wilder. "Here that, big bully? Puffy and I are unstoppable together!" Feeling a rush of triumph as she said that, she remembered, "Oh yeah, I got it!" she said, revealing the lime green key clutched tightly in her paw.

Puffball looked at Danielle, and said, "Dani, you … You're amazing!"

"No, we are!" Danielle said, giving Puffball another hug. "We couldn't have done this without each other!"

"Yeah," Puffball said, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too," Danielle smiled back. "Now come on," Danielle said excitedly. "We've got two keys, and knowing how cool the rest of our family is, they may have even more! Let's go see them!"

"You know, I think you might be right!" Puffball said hopefully, and happily, the two puppies trotted down the hallway, each with a key securely tucked in their collar. Though they knew that many challenges awaited them, they knew that they would not go down without a fight.


	40. Chapter 40

**Welcome back! Again, all of my usual comments and disclaimers apply to this chapter. Special props to XLR8 the Fox for helping me write the beginning of this chapter as well.**

 **Chapter 40 - Three for Three**

With the other puppies all scattering off in their respective directions, XL, Collette and Scavenger went to the only place where the others weren't headed. Together, the three of them went back to the entrance room, which still did not have anyone in it, although the putrid smell of Vendella's smoke still lingered.

"Yuck, it's hard to smell anything here," Scavenger groaned.

"Yeah," XL said understandingly. "We'll keep an eye out for wild dogs while you search."

Scavenger nodded and promptly began to sniff as XL and Collette stood guard. Interested in anything about her crush including his adoptive brother, Collette couldn't help but to be curious. "Scavenger? Sorry to interrupt …"

"That's okay, what is it?" Scavenger asked as he continued to sniff.

"Well … How long have you lived with your pets?"

"For a couple of months. It was a miracle that my pets found me in the snow, otherwise I wouldn't be here," Scavenger said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Collette said. "Because all of you are so close … Just like my family. It wasn't that long ago when it was just me, my parents, Annette, Danielle and Scamp … And when we had a lot more arguing. But we've come to understand each other, which really has drawn everyone closer, and of course …" Collette began to look at XL, only to see he looked alarmed.

"Are you okay XL?" Collette asked him gently.

"Huh? What? Y-yeah, I'm ok, why wouldn't I be?" he asked, with a smile that can be seen as forced.

"Are you sure?" Collette asked, taking a step closer to him. "You seem very nervous."

XL sighed. "It's just, I'm scared. Scared of losing everyone," XL said sadly. "Scared of losing our pets, scared of losing our families, scared of losing … you," he said, blushing as his voice trailed off.

Collette also blushed as she smiled slightly at him. "We'll be okay, I promise. We've gone through so much already, and soon we'll be done with this once and for all."

XL looked at to her before turning to Scavenger to make sure he was still there and then turned back to Collette. "I …. I had a nightmare … Back at the car. I was being chased by the wild dogs. Then I saw a hunter with his dog … He … He was staring at me with his rifle and his dog was growling … I saw a body of a vixen …. My mom," XL said, tearing as he shivered as she too began to tear as Scavenger stopped sniffing to approach his brother-like friend. "I … I ran away, I heard gunshots and the hunter yelling. I could feel the dog's hot breath on me as I ran, but then I saw the wild dogs chasing me as well. I fell and everyone we know was chained up in cages … And I saw a wild dog about to kill you, Collette. I tried to stop but I was chained as well! I felt powerless, I wanted to save you but … " XL tried to finish his sentence but choked up on his words, clearly on the verge of crying. Looking at him sadly, Collette nuzzled him.

"I'm so sorry about your mom … I had no idea," Collette said sadly, embracing him with a paw around his shoulder. "But I'm sure she's smiling down at you. You've found a loving family and made great friends in all of us, and we're fighting together for the kind of life she'd want you to live. And besides, that was just a dream. There's no reason to lose hope because of that. Instead, we must always look to find hope, even in unlikely places."

"Speaking of unlikely places," Scavenger said suddenly, "What if that's what they'd do?"

Quizzically, Collette and XL looked at him. "What if they'd hide a key outside of their headquarters? To keep us off the scent?"

Collette and XL pondered that. "Well, I suppose it is worth a try," Collette said slowly. "But still, it would be incredibly risky. We've got to sneak out carefully."

"We'll keep watch as you sniff around," XL added.

The three of them agreed, but just then, they began to hear some loud, smug humming coming from the other side of the curtain.

"Run!" Collette exclaimed, and the three of them quietly scampered outside and sat on the front step, where in front of them, the cats and wolves were still engaging in a brutal melee with the wild dogs. However, upon closer inspection, they saw that some additional housedogs had arrived on the scene to help out. Evidently Katie's warnings had reached the housedogs further away, who promptly responded to help protect their way of life. Still, the wild dogs were relentless as they continued to scratch, claw and bite, all remarkably without showing any sign of tiring. Peering back into the room from the outside, the three of them saw that Vendella had returned to her old post, leaning back on the recliner as she smirked. "Those fools thought they could jail me that easily? Ha! I have a job that's more important than all of theirs put together," she gloated.

Intrigued, Collette, XL and Scavenger looked at each other, wondering what exactly she meant. However, they then remembered they had a key to search for. Taking care to avoid making any noises that would catch the wild dogs' attention, the three of them carefully jumped off the step and onto the dirt below, where Scavenger immediately put his nose to the ground and began to sniff, while Collette and XL watched out for guards. Though he sniffed aggressively, Scavenger could not smell anything, so they turned the corner. Steadily, they passed the side wall of the wild dogs' complex as Scavenger continued to sniff, but he still was unable to smell any key. As they neared the back corner of the building however, XL whispered, "Hey! There's two guards back there."

Indeed, two guards were lumbering besides the back wall, and upon closer inspection, saw that the guards were pacing over the same path over and over again. "I bet it's back there," Scavenger muttered.

Collette and XL nodded. "We'll distract the guards," XL said.

"And I know just how to do it … Become irresistible," Collette smirked.

And at once, she turned the corner, while XL stayed back cautiously. At once, she began to loudly sob. "Oh, woe is me! Mommy, Daddy, help! All is lost … My fur is so dirty … And I might never get another biscuit from my pets!" she wailed.

This instantly caught the attention of the guards, who dropped their pacing and ran over to her, bloodthirsty lust shining in their eyes. Little did they notice the small dalmatian puppy promptly whizzing by them.

"Aww, the little housedog is lost," the first guard said. "I'm gonna rip her head off."

"What? I saw her first!" the second one said, affronted. "I'm gonna do it!"

"No, I am!"

"Please," Collette wailed again, trying to cover the glee on her face as she saw Scavenger digging a hole. "Won't one of you kind sirs be a dear and rescue me?"

"Heh heh," the two guards laughed, and continued guffawing as all the while, Scavenger continued digging uninterrupted. "That prissy is so stupid," one finally said.

"Yeah, what a dum-dum," the other boorishly replied, and as Collette looked over, she saw that while Scavenger was still in the hole, he was not digging. "But even she knows she won't get saved."

"Maybe not," Collette whimpered, giving XL a wink, before saying, "But I think we can handle you just fine," she said, instantly dropping her act, getting up on her feet and jumping on one of the guard's heads, dazing him. The other guard tried to bite back, but XL jumped on his head, causing him too to become unconscious.

"That was funny!" XL said, laughing. "How'd you come up with that?"

"That's the thing with brutes," Collette answered effortlessly. "Get their guard down, and they'll fall for anything."

They arrived to the hole, of which Scavenger was just climbing out of, with an emerald key in his mouth.

"It was there, right where they were guarding! Thanks for getting them out of the way," Scavenger exclaimed.

"Oh, it was fun," Collette exclaimed, before she and XL both giggled, fondly eyeing each other in their shared moment of triumph.

As they rounded the corner, Scavenger added, "You know, I don't think that's all the keys."

"What do you mean?" XL asked.

"Well, I couldn't smell anything in Vendella's room … But that's because Vendella's smoke smelled so bad."

"Why'd they let that room smell like Cruella's cigarettes, anyway?" XL asked. "No one could like that smell but Vendella."

" True … Speaking of Vendella, why would they let her out? I wouldn't think they would forgive failure," Collette pondered.

"Maybe they needed her for something," Scavenger said as they reached the entrance again. Peering inside, they saw that Vendella was still relaxing on her chair. "Strange she's still sitting there though."

But just as he said that, the same thought came into all three of their heads. "Or maybe not so strange at all …" Collette said slowly as XL and Scavenger nodded.

"That fits," Scavenger said. "They would hide a key in a place where you can't smell it!"

"Well, what are waiting for!" XL said. "Let's get it!" And at once, XL tore into the room, with Collette and Scavenger following closely behind. They knew it was risky entering the room with Vendella inside, but they knew they had to check the room no matter what the cost.

As they crept in, Vendella was still lounging on her chair, and they took these valuable first few seconds to look around the room, but couldn't see anything. Scavenger however took great efforts to allow his nose to ignore the smoke and smell any bit of metal he could. This took a lot of time, for getting used to the smoke was not something that would happen immediately.

Vendella then looked over and saw the three of them. Immediately, she jumped onto the desk, then off it as she approached the three of them hungrily. "Well well well," Vendella said. "Look who decided to drop in."

Scared as they were, they took hope in one thing - Vendella was not the type to get her paws dirty, for while she had no limit in terms of cruelty, they were safe as long as no one else was around to carry out her orders. However at once, Vendella yelled outside, "We've got some pests to take care of!" Before any of the three could run away, she stepped onto all of their tails and grinned at them. "This time there's no escape. I won't rest until I get to see the looks on all your little faces, wishing that you've never been born and you and your families have never caused trouble for my mistress."

Evidently however, the fight outside was preventing any wild dog to assist Vendella, so Vendella just stood on their tails and waited. As she cackled gleefully as she speculated on what punishments might be in store for them, XL, Collette and Scavenger worked hard to ignore her as they looked around the room for a key. In the middle of her monologue, XL nudged the other two and mouthed, "Found it," as the other two nodded understandingly.

Eventually, one of the guards lumbered into the room. "Well, you took long enough," she said coldly.

"Hey, it ain't easy fighting off the mob," the guard said sheepishly, and at that moment, Vendella moved her paw a step forward, taking it off the three of their tails.

"Well anyway," Vendella said, "We're bringing … Oh shut up you idiots!" Vendella growled as Collette and Scavenger started barking loudly, before tearing within a second, with Vendella just then realizing her mistake.

"Get them!" Vendella ordered. The guard nodded, and the two of them chased Collette and Scavenger around the room. Meanwhile, XL had scurried over to the red curtain, where a glimmer had previously caught his attention. Digging through the plushy red, dark red velvet, he found it. A ruby key was hidden within the similarly colored velvet, only detectable through its faint sparkle. Hurriedly taking it, he noticed that Scavenger was backed into a corner with both Vendella and the guard bearing down on him, with no sign of Collette anywhere.

A surge of adrenaline rushed through XL as without thinking, he rushed forward and bit Vendella and the guard's tails in succession. Enraged, the two of them chased after XL, who ran through the curtain with the two of them hot on his tail. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Scavenger give him a reassuring look. Immediately, his heart felt a flush of relief. No matter what, XL always trusted his foster brother, and knew that he meant that Collette was safe. He'd have to see her again later, however, because first, he'd have to get these wild dogs off his tail.

As he ran through the gym, he saw Annette sitting by the pool, beckoning him to come over. Intrigued, he ran over there, wondering if Annette wanted him to go in the pool or not as he approached. Not exactly sure on what to do, he dove into the murky pool, feeling its dirty depths enveloping him. Not much later, two louder splashes followed him in, but at that instant, he felt himself being pulled out of the water. Looking up as his eyes adjusted, he saw that Annette was standing above him, smiling, while down below, a torrent of splashes was taking place surrounding what seemed to be an underwater brawl.

"Thanks," XL said simply.

"No problem, brother-in-law to be," Annette chuckled as they walked to the front room, causing XL to blush a little bit as they walked away from the pool. "There's a guard down there who's really tough, but he bites before he thinks so it'll take him a while before he realizes who's he's fighting."

"Where are Scavenger and sis, anyway?" Annette asked as they headed through the red curtain, but no sooner had she asked did she see Scavenger and Collette. Upon seeing her sister, Annette ran over and licked Collette on the check in relief, before Collette and XL gave each other a hug. It was just then when they each realized that all the others each had a key, including Collette, who now had a bright red key in her possession.

"Thanks for keeping them busy," Collette said to XL and Scavenger. "I found this in Vendella's desk. I figured since she's sitting there all the time, she'd be bound to be hiding something in there, and voila."

"That's good," XL said. "For a second there I thought you were … Were … Because I couldn't see you."

"Aww XL like I said, with our family, there's no reason to give up hope," Collette smiled before turning to her sister. "How did you get yours, Annette?"

Annette was just about to answer when they heard the sound of hurried footsteps at the curtain's edge. Bracing themselves, they expected to see Vendella and the guard back, ready to strike. However, their fear vanished as through the curtain ran Danielle, Puffball, Lucky, Rolly and Penny. So happy to see everyone safe and to be together again, the puppies engaged in a chorus of yips and barks as they happily panted at each other, unable to contain their excitement.

Then they realized that each of them now had a key in their mouth. Excitedly, they gathered together and showed the nine keys they obtained, put them down together where they happily glittered in unison, before engaging in a quiet but delighted round of cheers and group hugs. They were still a long way away from freeing their pets and the other dogs of town and stopping the wild dogs' terror. But with all nine of them having survived and succeeded in getting a basement key, they were that much closer to penetrating the wild dogs' fortress and getting everything and everyone they all loved back again.


End file.
